The New Brats
by X-Moon-X-Glows-X
Summary: "I'm going to be the Hokage!" My ass you're going to be the Hokage. "I'll be even better than my dad!" You want to surpass Naruto Uzumaki? The guy who ended the Fourth War and brought my dad back? "No joke!" Shoot me now. -Next generation of Naruto-
1. No joke, Uchiha

_**How I'd promised myself not to write a Naruto fanfic. Let alone a cliché one like this. Yes, I know this has been done a million times before. No, I don't care. Yes, I also know my other two stories have been in limbo FOR AGES. But I needed a break from Bleach. I just got into Naruto in the past few months so… I have lots of inspiration on writing this. I hope. If I don't get another gigantic writer's block.**_

_**ANYWAY-**_

_**You know why this fanfic is so damn good and a million times better than the rest of the "next generation Naruto" fics? Because it's written by ME. Damn right I'm going to be cocky, hehe :3**_

_**So, the genre of this thing is romance, adventure, friendship and drama with a hint of comedy. The main characters are OC, but I definitely won't be neglecting any canon characters. This chapter is mainly an intro for the two main characters. It's going to be a wall of text so get ready.**_

_**Yes, there will be a villain with nameless generic henchmen. Yes, there is a rivalry between the Uzumaki brat and the Uchiha brat. Yes, there's going to be a love triangle at some point. Yes, hearts will be broken. Just read the damn story already. And also, just so you know, it's going to have A LOT of plot twists later on. **_

_**Enjoy. =D**_

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><p>I don't like this guy.<p>

"I'm gonna be the Hokage one day!"

In fact, I think I hate this guy.

"I'll be even better than my dad! No joke!"

Loud, hyperactive, cocky – all the qualities I tend to dislike. Even worse, he's sitting right next to me during class. Usually, my best friend Hiroki sat next to me, but for some reason the bonehead had snatched his seat. But what's really the issue here that makes me want to bash my head repeatedly against the wall until I bleed to death, is the fact that our fathers are best friends. You're probably frowning right now and wondering what the big deal is. When I say "best friends" I mean "Super-BFFs". Despite this bonehead's father being the Hokage, which means he has a tight schedule, he visits our mansion regularly, dragging said bonehead with him. I can't just ignore him, or my dad gives me that glare where you just know you're gonna get your ass whooped if you misbehave. Problem is, even though our fathers force us to interact, neither me nor the bonehead actually like one another. Of course I'm talking about Uzumaki Katsuro. Who else could be the embodiment of my torture?

I'm beginning to think the Hokage himself hates me and visits with his son just to piss me off. You see, this dumbass (despite me being a girl) has no problem punching me right in the face when we spar. I would've greatly appreciated the gesture of equality with any other guy in my class (because I hate it when guys go easy on me just because of my gender), but Katsuro was not, is not and _never will be _my equal. He has no discipline, no respect towards his betters, doesn't know when to shut up and overuses the catchphrase "No joke".

"Ne, Uchiha-san," I averted my gaze and looked at the girl sitting on my right side "do you want to go out for ramen after class?" Natsumi Haruno. She and her brother, Hiroki, were adopted by Sakura Haruno, head of the hospital. Natsumi was a short, slender girl with spiky, short hair that had the color of rust and grey, wide eyes with freckles over her cheeks and nose. She looked up to me as a role model, and I guess she was okay as she didn't bother me much. Sometimes I liked to hang out with her, because she didn't talk as much as the other girls. But her mother though, she was one scary lady! No, really. I saw her punch the freaking Hokage! So, just to avoid Sakura, I usually declined any offer of Natsumi to come to her house for tea or something. Believe me, you don't want to get on Sakura's bad side. Somehow, one of my older brothers, Ryuuji, had taken a liking to the violent mother. He even trained with Sakura sometimes.

"Sorry, I'm going to train after school." I answered Natsumi's request, studying my fingernails nonchalantly. That was true, but usually I had a short break of one hour after class before I went to train. Today, however, I didn't feel like spending my one-hour free time with anyone. Tomorrow was graduation, and I'd trained two weeks extra intensively, so now I was pretty exhausted and just wanted to relax during that one-hour break before I trained again. Usually I read a book or took a warm bubble bath. Oh yes, today I was looking extra forward to my bubble bath.

"I can go with you, Natsumi-chan!" Katsuro suddenly interrupted our conversation with that stupid, gleeful smile on his face. Natsumi had wanted to respond to my rejection when the bonehead had interfered. _'Typical.' _

"Oh, well-"

"-She wasn't asking _you, _Uzumaki." I snapped annoyed, my dark eyes staring right into his bright blue ones with a glare. He put his arms on the table, glaring right back at me before sneering:

"I wasn't talking to _you, _Uchiha." I narrowed my eyes.

"But you interrupted _my _conversation."

"Since when do you own every conversation?" Uzumaki leaned forward, getting angry. His red hair was messy and a little spiky. A few locks fell in front of his eyes which were glowering at me. "You think you're so cool, don't you? I can't wait to see the look on your face the day I kick your butt!" he exclaimed loudly (like always), while pointing at me openly.

Fanboys to the rescue! Apparently, as an Uchiha you automatically have fanboys and/or fangirls, depending mostly on your gender. Can you feel my joy, yet? No? Well I'm telling you, it just warms my heart seeing my fanboys rage about something so trivial. It makes me feel proud that I'm the cause of all this stupidity. Yep. Proud.

"How dare you talk to Yukari-sama that way!"

'_-Sama? Are you serious?'_

"We ought to kick your ass, Uzumaki!"

Bony McBonehead growled at my White Knights in shining armor who, oh so heroically I might add, jumped to my defense. Because like every woman ever in existence, I need to rely on men to come save me from a verbal fight, right? Right.

Sense the sarcasm yet?

"I'd like to see you try, buttheads!"

"Just because daddy is the Hokage, this prick thinks he can tell us anything!"

"Yeah! You're just a daddy's boy!"

'_Daddy's boy. Yes! Great nickname! From now on, I dub you, Katsuro Uzumaki, as Daddy's boy.' _ I thought amused. For once my fanboys were good for something. If you hadn't noticed, coming up with new, derogatory nicknames for Dumbo over here was a personal hobby of mine.

"Fanboys, Katsuro, settle down!" our teacher, Takao, scolded the morons. A tall, well-built man with dark blue, shoulder-length hair, dark brown eyes and a seemingly permanent stubble around the lower part of his face. I'm not joking, not once in all those years he was our teacher have I seen him without his stubble or with a beard. He was eccentric, enigmatic and overall a good teacher. But strict, and always got into arguments with the bonehead. For a second, Uzumaki looked like he was going to protest like always, but surprisingly he leaned back in his seat, calming down.

I locked eyes with Hiroki for a moment, who was sitting a few seats away up front, both of us chuckling at the reprimand Katsuro had been given.

"Sorry, Takao-sensei." he apologized, though not very sincerely, and his example was followed by the fanboys. I was surprised for a second. He'd been gone for vacation in the winter, and obviously matured a tad during that time. Just a tad, though. Not nearly enough to make him less annoying.

"As I was saying, since you've now all received your headbands, it's time to put you in appropriate teams. Three man cells, to be precise. Today we'll do the last of sorting you, and tomorrow you'll get to hear the names of your teammates and sensei. Now leave, you little brats. Class is over."

I got up as soon as I could. Did I mention my fanboys already? No? Well, in case you're retarded and didn't notice my fanboys raging just one minute ago, I have some. A lot, actually.

"Yukari-chan!"

"Look, it's Yukari-sama!"

"Yuyu-chan, wait for us!"

"Yukari!" That last cry was not from one of my fanboys. Thank god! Big brother to the rescue! That wasn't sarcasm, by the way. If there's one guy in this village that I'll always be happy to see, it has to be my oldest brother. I saw a flash of his black hair, before I was dragged out of the building, preventing the fanboys from getting to me. I was a bit sad I hadn't been able to speak to Hiroki, but he'd understand.

"Great timing, nii-san." I said with a smile. Kazuya let go of my hand. He was eighteen, six years older than me, one year older than Ryuuji. His dark eyes glanced at the Academy building before he looked back at me, probably making sure no one followed. My big brother was the best brother in the world. No, really. A genius jounin, very talented and handsome. He always got me out of trouble.

"You're lucky I have a day off. The fanboys seem more energetic today. You wouldn't have survived that crowd." Kazuya noted a little jokingly, putting his hands in his pockets and already walking towards the Uchiha mansion.

"Still not as bad as _your _fangirls." I said with a smirk and he sighed, putting a hand through his messy hair he'd tied in a low ponytail.

"Please don't remind me." He stared up to the sky and I followed his gaze. It was clouded today, almost looked like it was going to storm. It had already rained, making the ground muddy and soft beneath our feet. "So, tomorrow graduation, right? Nervous?"

"More like excited." I answered, though I didn't look very excited. He studied my indifferent expression.

"You have father's pokerface. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing for a girl." For most that would seem like a harmless observation, but I knew my brother well enough to notice the subtle, teasing undertone.

"Shut up." I muttered. I did feel very excited, I guess I just didn't really know how to express it without feeling awkward. I usually had three generic expressions: angry, happy and insulted. I'd never been very sad in my life, and rarely excited, so I didn't know how to cope with those emotions. Well, there had been one time where I'd been extremely sad. But, due to the huge amount of embarrassment in that particular flashback, I'm not going to show you yet.

"You'll be a fine ninja someday." he murmured. I snorted.

"The best damn one in the village, you mean." Oh, right. I also had the cocky expression. I'd forgotten about that one. Kazuya chuckled and ruffled my hair. "Hey!" I sighed, trying to get my hair fixed. Like my brother, I had black hair, but it wasn't as smooth and straight as his. Mine was curly, always loose and longer, so it always easily got into a mess. It was a real pain combing it, as well. I finally got my hair looking decent again, and shot a glare at Kazuya, who didn't even seem to notice. My brother had, several times, refused to join the ANBU. Why was beyond me. I would be honored to be part of the ANBU. For some reason, father understood his decision and almost seem to approve. I had a suspicion that me and both of my brothers were always expected to do much better than others, probably because of our family's history.

I noticed at a very early age, say around four or five, that most adults treated me differently from the other kids (except Takao-sensei). They always seemed to get extra concerned when I got angry. Despite my popularity with the boys when I got older, some of their parents still disapproved their admiration for me, even to this day. Some, however, seemed to treat me extra nicely or have big expectations of me, probably because I was an Uchiha. If you asked me what was the cause of all these mixed reactions, I wouldn't know. I remember one specific event three years back, when I was playing in the park. Natsumi's twin brother and my best friend, Hiroki Haruno, approached me that day. He'd just recently been adopted back then, so he treated me quite normal as he was unaware of the "avoid-Yukari-at-all-costs" policy the other kids had set up. For some reason, they had steered clear of me until then. With the exception of Uzumaki, of course, but we really weren't friends so that doesn't count.

"_Hi," the boy greeted a girl who was playing in the sandbox. She looked up to him, surprised. Usually most kids stayed away from her. "My name is Hiroki Haruno. You're that Uchiha girl, right?"_

"_Yukari." The girl answered shortly, and stood up from the sandbox. She noticed there were a group of children a few feet away, watching their exchange. She frowned slightly, then looked back at the boy with straight hair that reached his shoulders which had the color of rust and grey eyes._

"_You wanna play with us?" Yukari frowned at this, staring back at the group of anxious looking children._

"_Why are they looking at me like that?" she asked Hiroki, who shrugged._

"_I dunno. A few told me you were dangerous or something, but whatever. You seem nice enough!" he grinned at her, and Yukari couldn't help but smile back. Hiroki noticed it. "See, guys? She's not so bad!" he called to the group. They approached her, and started talking to her. Yukari was a little baffled. She'd been used to other kids backing away from her, but thanks to this boy they suddenly wanted to be friends with her. _

I became great friends with him ever since that day. Why had they been afraid of me, in the first place? The image of those group of kids, packed together and staring at me as if I were some monster about to eat them alive had not done much for my self-esteem. Don't worry, the hundreds of compliments of my fanboys later on had helped me with that. Now I really thought back, it seemed kind of weird. I knew that our family had been full of very powerful shinobi like Itachi Uchiha, the uncle I never got to meet, or dad, Sasuke Uchiha. I looked sideways to Kazuya. Would he know? It was worth asking.

"Ne, Kazu-nii¹," I said, getting his attention "do you know why kids used to avoid me when I was younger?" Kazuya look puzzled, but I could swear I saw an anxious expression flashing on his face before that.

"No idea."

"I remember they thought I was dangerous."

"Maybe their parents told them that." Kazuya said with a shrug. I frowned.

"Why would their parents tell them that?" I pressed on, determined to get behind it. Now I was so close to graduation, I was getting anxious, and some things in my past (yes, I realize I'm only twelve, just shut up and listen) hadn't been entirely resolved yet. Kazuya blinked. I narrowed my eyes. Kazuya always blinked a little too often when there was something he wanted to hide from me.

"You know father used to be a missing-nin once. Maybe that's why." he explained to me nonchalantly, a little too nonchalant. It seemed like he wanted to wave the topic away. I had to know what it was that he was hiding.

"But Kazu-nii," I tried in my most sweetest voice, "I really think there has to be more to it than that. The people in this village wouldn't just-"

"-Enough, Yukari." Kazuya snapped impatiently, successfully ending the conversation.

'_He snapped at me!_' I thought shocked. _´Kazuya actually… he actually got angry with me?' _This was a rarity. With rarity, I mean that it had never happened before. I recovered from the shock, and folded my arms as I kept on walking.

He may have won this round, but now I was only more determined to find out what was going on.

* * *

><p>"I'm home!" I called through the entire building as I burst through the door in front of me. The people already present in the room gave me weird stares but I ignored them and walked in.<p>

"Katsuro, for the last time, _this is my office_. Not our home. Stop screaming you're home every time you come here." my dad told me off, though he smirked right afterwards. He got up from his seat and walked over to me, patting me on the head. "You're kind of late, though. So, how was your day?" he asked. I grinned.

"Great! Natsumi-chan took me out for some ramen, and afterwards helped me with my transformation technique, so that's why I was late today, which reminds me-" I now frowned, folding my arms "-when are you going to teach me how to Rasengan the shit out of-" He slapped me upside the head. "Ow!" I heard some of the people behind me chuckle.

"No cussing when I'm around. And I'll teach it to you when you're ready, brat." Yup, this was my dad, the current Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto. I watched as he sat back down in his chair, his hands on the back of his head. He was obviously in relax-mode now.

"But dad!" I whined, "How am I supposed to beat that stupid Uchiha without it? I'm betting she's learning loads of techniques from her dad. It's so unfair! No joke!" My dad raised his eyebrows, then chuckled.

'_Amusing you, am I? Puh, my dad's an asshole!' _I glowered at him, getting more impatient with the second. This guy wasn't taking me seriously, was he?

"With 'that stupid Uchiha', I assume you mean Yukari-chan. You've seem to taken a liking to her." he muttered, though it was more an observation for himself than an actual comment towards me. I was seriously getting pissed by now.

"Of course I don't!" I yelled, balling my fists. "She's a conceited, cocky, arrogant, overconfident, smug-"

"-Katsuro, those are all synonyms." my dad interrupted me.

"I don't care! I'll beat the crap out of her, one day! No joke! The only reason I haven't beaten her yet is because… well, because she's still a little girl, and I don't wanna be serious with little girls!" I huffed. Dad rolled his eyes.

"Sure. That's why last week, even when you screamed 'I'm **totally** and **seriously **gonna kick your ass', you let her defeat you anyway, right?"

'_Damn. I totally forgot he witnessed that.' _

"Whatever! You're the worst dad ever!" Now I was having a temper tantrum. "If you won't teach me, I'll just figure it out by myself!" I declared. Dad leaned towards his desk, a mischievous glistening in his eyes.

"Do I hear a bet, brat?"

"You bet your ass it's a bet!" I yelled heatedly, initially not noticing several people behind me laughing at the display. Dad smirked widely.

"Alright, as the Hokage, I accept your bet. But if you lose," I was starting to get a bad feeling about this "you'll have to do the dishes for the rest of the year. Which would be… five months. I'm giving you two weeks to figure it out."

"TWO WEEKS? ARE YOU CRAZY?" I was panicking now. The people behind me started to laugh harder and I shot a quick glare at them.

"What's wrong, too short? Where did all that confidence go, brat?" Dad laughed, before he spoke again. "Fine. Exactly three weeks." I wanted to protest again, when I realized there was one other person I could ask for help. I smiled, dad noticed this and caught on. "You can't ask Kakashi for help, either."

"Dammit!" I cursed. There went my great plan. "Will you at least give me a hint?" I pleaded, with the most innocent face I could put on.

"No. You said you didn't need me, so go figure it out by yourself. You have four weeks." Dad repeated. Now the pleading didn't work, I got pissed again.

"FINE! I don't need you at all! You just wait! You all wait!" I turned to the people who were standing behind me. "I'll blow you away! No joke!" If you hadn't noticed by now, "No joke" is kinda my catchphrase, like how my dad says "Believe it" all the time.

Anyway, with that, I marched out, determined to prove them all wrong. Ha, who needed that guy anyway? Sure, he was the Hokage and stuff, but I didn't need his stupid guidance! Though, the more I walked towards my actual house, the more I started to get filled with doubts. This was supposed to be grandfather's technique, the Fourth Hokage, it was A-rank, for god's sake! How the hell was I supposed to figure it out in three weeks with no knowledge of it whatsoever? Well, whatever. I had three weeks to figure it out. That was more than enough time for a genius like me, right?

'_Oh, who am I kidding? I'm screwed! I'm royally screwed!'_

"Ow!" In all my contemplating, I bumped right into a wall and fell on the ground. Except the wall talked. So it wasn't a wall. Oops.

"Watch it, ey." I looked up, and saw a guy towering above me, staring down with an annoyed look on his face. Well, not just _a_ guy. Konohamaru Sarutobi. A guy whose hair seemed to have its own will. No, seriously, the way it was sticking out in every direction possible was pissing me off. He would be assigned to a group of us students tomorrow as a sensei, and I knew him pretty well. He'd been my dad's student, and a really skilled-

'_Hold it. HOLD IT!'_

The spiky-haired brunette was now raising his eyebrows because of my gaping at him, but I didn't care. This guy….

"Konohamaru-sensei, you were taught by my dad, right?" I asked, getting up from the ground. _'Why didn't I think of this guy before? Better yet, my dad seemed to have forgotten about him, or he did it on purpose. Whatever, I found my saving grace!' _He smirked widely at me, folding his arms.

"Yeah, and? What's it to you?"

"He also taught you the Rasengan, didn't he?" Konohamaru frowned, a little irritated.

"I'm not getting in between you and your dad's bet, ey." he responded determinedly. My jaw dropped. _'There goes my fantastic and waterproof genius plan.'_

"You know about that?"

"I was just taking a walk when I heard you screaming at him about it. How could I have not noticed it, ey?" I pouted, putting on the cutest face and voice I could manage before I started begging him to teach me. Yes, that's my last resort. Being cute. If you laugh I'll cut your throat, no joke.

"Please! PLEASE! At least give me a few hints! Come on, my life depends on this! I can't do the dishes for five months! Do you know how horrible doing dishes is? Having to clean up everyone's mess? Some people even leave their napkin on the plate! Or they-"

"-Alright, alright! Just shut up already!" Konohamaru interrupted me, obviously tired of my whining. He contemplated something for a while before he finally made a decision. "Tomorrow it's Friday, right? It's graduation time. I'll have my own group of students too, so you'll have to wait until Sunday before I can help you."

"Sunday? Why Sunday?" I asked confused. The smirk Konohamaru displayed on his face wasn't predicting anything good.

"You'll see. Later." He disappeared, and I cursed inwardly. Stupid Konohamaru. Stupid dad! I walked home while sulking about it, wondering if it was really possible for me to learn a technique like that in the first place. _'Well, dad obviously doesn't think so. Konohamaru-sensei might, or he would've never agreed to help me in the first place. Still, I really wish dad-'_

"SHANNARO²!"

Oh, look. An incoming flying rock at twelve o'clock. Wait-

'_HOLY SHIT!'_

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><p><em><strong>Kazu-nii¹: Essentially this means 'older brother Kazu'.<strong>_

_**SHANNARO²: A battle-cry much used by Sakura in the original manga when she has those rare moments of kicking ass. No, it's not Sakura who's yelling it this time. It doesn't have any literal meaning, but is usually translated as "Hell yeah".**_

_**Here's where I end it. Just for you guys, I'm gonna give you a short bio on the new characters we've seen so far so it doesn't become too confusing later on.**_

_**Katsuro Uzumaki  
><strong>__**The oldest son of Naruto Uzumaki. Currently an Academy student, twelve years old. Red hair, blue eyes. Has two siblings, one older sister, Mari, and one younger brother, Akio. Expected to graduate without any problems. Has the second highest scores in class, a step below Yukari. Because of the pressure put on him and the expectations, he tends to shout a lot and get angry easily to get rid of that stress, even if it's temporarily. Has a rivalry going on with Yukari. Has a prank-war going on with Hiroki. His name is written as (**__**勝郎**__**) in kanji, meaning 'victorious son'. **_

_**Yukari Uchiha**__**  
>The only daughter of Sasuke Uchiha. Currently an Academy student, twelve years old. Black hair, black eyes. Has two older brothers, one is Ryuuji, the oldest is Kazuya. Expected to graduate without any problems. Has the highest scores in class, has a lot of fanboys and is often described as either 'unapproachable', 'intimidating' or 'beautiful'. It depends on who you talk to, really. Has a rivalry going on with Katsuro. Her name is written as (<strong>__**佳梨**__**) in kanji, meaning 'beautiful pear tree'. **_

_**Kazuya Uchiha  
><strong>__**The oldest son of Sasuke Uchiha. Currently jounin rank, eighteen years old. Black hair, black eyes. Has one younger brother, Ryuuji, and one younger sister, Yukari. Was made a jounin when he was thirteen. Has respectfully turned down any requests of the ANBU to join. Has lots of fangirls, but usually ignores them. Very well-known throughout the village for his skill and intellect. Is usually the most approachable and kindest of the Uchiha, which is why he has the most fans. His name is written as (**__**和也**__**) in kanji, meaning 'peaceful one'. **_

_**Hiroki Haruno  
><strong>__**The only son of Sakura Haruno. Currently an Academy student, twelve years old. Brown hair, grey eyes. Has a twin sister, Natsumi. Expected to graduate. Has overall very good scores in class. He's a little mischievous, calm and a little oblivious to what the social standard is in the village. This caused him to become best friends with the otherwise 'unapproachable' Yukari. Likes pulling pranks on Katsuro, and has a sort prank-war going on with him. Spars often with him as well. His name is written as (**__**弘樹**__**) in kanji, meaning 'vast timber trees'. **_

_**Natsumi Haruno  
><strong>__**The only daughter of Sakura Haruno. Currently an Academy student, twelve years old. Brown hair, grey eyes. Has a twin brother, Hiroki. Expected to graduate. Has overall good scores in class. She's calm and attentive, looks up to Yukari as a role model despite their age being exactly the same. Is also close friends with Katsuro, putting her in a tight spot when the two of them argue. Her name is written as (**__**夏美**__**) in kanji, meaning 'beautiful summer'.**_

_**Reviews, pretty please? :D**_


	2. Indeed not a joke, Uzumaki

**Guys, don't expect me to introduce every single character (people were asking for the parents and stuff) in one chapter. No, really. I'm way too lazy for that. Oh, also, thanks for the awesome reviews! To Broken Names: OH MY GOD I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT TAKAO'S BIO LAST CHAPTER. Oh well, he's a minor character, so... I'll probably add him when he decides to show up again.**

**YES, you will get to see pairings this chapter. Gosh. Rather anxious, aren't we?**

**A-NY-WAY-**

**Here's the second chapter.**

**EN-JOY.**

**Or don't. It all depends on you, really.**

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><p>"Are you alright?"<p>

I gaped at the person who'd saved me by tackling me to the ground, avoiding the giant rock in the nick of time. Mari smiled, getting up and dragging me up as well. I wondered why she was here. She was supposed to be out on a mission with her team, wasn't she? Mari was a chuunin and my fourteen year old sister, the oldest kid in the family. She had mom's hair, which was long and straight with a dark blue color, and also had inherited the Byakugan. She didn't have her bangs covering her forehead like mom, though. Her skin color was also paler compared to mine.

"Nee-san, what are you doing here?" I asked curiously, watching my sister fiddle with her headband she'd tied loosely around her neck. "Not that I don't appreciate the save and all, but weren't you on a mission with your team?"

"We were supposed to go but Shikamaru-sensei said it got cancelled. I don't know why, though. There were probably some complications, either that or the problem got solved and we weren't needed anymore. In any case, I'm glad! I really needed a break. So, how was your day?"

"Other than almost getting smashed by a rock? Alright, I guess." Mari now turned to look at the direction where the rock came from. Her eyes gazed at the road the rock had completely destroyed.

"What careless person was the cause of this? There's only one guy I can think of, come on!" she pulled me with her. Mari, like me, was a very open and spontaneous person. But, unlike me, she never got angry. I'm not joking. I've never seen her angry once. Sure, she got annoyed with me a lot but never angry, she simply was too much of a loving person.

We jumped over a wall, and landed on a wide, open training field. Though it was pretty much in ruins now. I spotted a tall and lean guy practicing earth release techniques. And also smashing up rocks, apparently just for the hell of it. He seemed pretty angry, for some reason. I squinted my eyes, then realized squinting your eyes doesn't do jack shit for your sight and sighed at my own stupidity. Why do people do that, though? It's not like they'll suddenly get super-vision if they squint. Actually, now I think about it, it makes it worse, because you don't have full vision so you… what was I doing again?

"Ryuuji!" Mari shouted over to him and I blinked, realizing we were still standing in the training field. The guy looked up and stopped training. He wasn't wearing a shirt, making his trained abs visible. Yes, that was definitely Ryuuji Uchiha. He always trained with his shirt off, which always pissed me off. Showing off his muscles and then complaining about the fangirls afterwards! You must be thinking that I'm jealous or something, but I'm not. No, really, I don't care about fangirls! Dozens of hot women, worshipping the very ground you walk on and getting nosebleeds just from your smile, who needs them?

Alright, fine, I'm jealous. Goddamn Uchiha and their stupid fangirls!

I put my hands in the pockets of my dark blue jacket, already glaring at Ryuuji. Within a flash he stood in front of us. I noticed his fangirls weren't here this time, though. He'd probably shook them off or something.

"What?" he asked with a frown, obviously annoyed that we'd interrupted his training. His hair reached his earlobes, spiky at the tips and had a black color with a blue tint like his dad.

"You realize you nearly crushed my little brother with that rock you threw just a minute ago?" Mari said, frowning right back at him. Ryuuji rolled his eyes.

"So what? If he can't dodge it's his problem." Mari's frown almost went over into a glare. Almost. Not that it was necessary for her to glare, I was glowering enough for two people anyway, but Ryuuji just ignored me and looked at Mari.

'_Prick.' _

"Why did you punch that rock in that direction anyway? You could've smashed someone's house in! You destroyed the road as well."

"I don't recall ever asking to be lectured. Especially by a little brat." Ryuuji roughly pushed her aside and started to walk away. I was really pissed now. This guy was so impossible! Who did he think he was, shoving my sister like that?

"Hey, asshole! I demand an apology! No joke!" Ryuuji stopped walking after my angry shouting at him and turned around, a mocking expression on his face.

"For what? It's not my fault you're pathetically slow and had to get saved by your sister." He spat that last word as if it were an insult. He must've been angry, because usually Ryuuji completely ignored me. Something must've happened earlier to set him off. But at that moment, I didn't care. I just really wanted to punch him in the face to give him a piece of my mind, but I managed to kept my cool. Mari and mom always told me to try and control my temper. I remember dad telling me that I'd never become a good Hokage if I got pissed over trivial things that easily. So, yeah, I didn't get as violent any more but I still couldn't stop cussing.

"I wasn't talking about that, you prick! Apologize to my sister! You can't talk to her like that!" Before I knew it I was lifted by my collar until my feet were hovering above the ground. Ryuuji's intense glare almost sent chills down my spine.

"Why should I? Because daddy is the Hokage?" the jounin hissed. "You're all so ignorant, aren't you? You're so clueless about everything!" he threw me down on the ground. I was puzzled and frustrated. What was this guy talking about? I looked at Mari, but she was as equally confused as I was.

"Ryuuji, what are you-"

"-Save it!" Ryuuji interrupted Mari sharply. "I'm sick and tired of you brats strolling around town and pretending like you own it, when you have no idea how much more my family has sacrificed and suffered because of this village! My-" I gasped when someone else appeared out of nowhere, putting his hand on Ryuuji's shoulder. Ryuuji froze completely. He turned his head to the side, facing his own father. The two looked a lot alike, and (excluding Ryuuji's temperament) acted a lot alike as well.

"That's enough, Ryuuji." Sasuke spoke coolly. His son narrowed his eyes, seeming to be about to protest, but stayed silent. Mari helped me up from the ground as I kept staring at Sasuke. It was pretty rare seeing him in places like these. He preferred to stay indoors, usually. The only times he got out was when he got called for meetings. He was my dad's right-hand man after all. His son then finally calmed down and responded.

"Hn, fine." Ryuuji muttered displeased. "I'm going home." He resolutely turned around and walked away, not glancing back at his father once. I was dreaming up ways to kick Ryuuji's butt as I glared after him, when his dad turned towards us.

"Shouldn't you two be heading home?" he said in a tone that most definitely made me wish I was home, far away and safe from his scary ass.

"A-ah, yes, we'll leave right now! Bye!" Mari bowed and I did the same, and we both left as soon as possible. Though we both saw the man regularly (meaning dad dragging us to the Uchiha residence at a regular basis), he was still one intimidating guy. Around dad though, he seemed to relax and looked a lot less scary. But that was, of course, when he was talking to dad. When he addressed me or Mari, it was entirely different.

When we finally got to our house, I could already smell the food mom was preparing for us. I wanted to kick the door open and have a dynamic entry like always, but Mari disapprovingly shook her head and reached for the doorknob. Suddenly the door opened and another person came out.

"Akira-kun!" Mari said, surprised seeing her best friend here. Akira Nara, the laziest guy in the whole wide world. His dark green eyes were usually half lid, and his jet black hair was straight, some of it almost covering half his face. His father was the lazy genius of Konoha, Shikamaru Nara, and his mother, Temari, had originally belonged to Sunagakure. She was also the sister of the Kazekage. It was obvious whose mannerisms Akira had taken over.

"Yo." he greeted simply, his hands in his wide pockets like always. He walked a little slouched, as if he were sleepy all the time, and he did mostly sleep in his spare time. I really couldn't understand this guy. What was so great about sleeping, anyway?

"What are you doing here?" I asked, just as surprised as Mari.

"Your mom just invited me over for dinner, 'cause I helped her out with some groceries." he explained with a shrug. "A real pain, but I can't say no to food." Mari smiled widely.

"That's cool! I suppose you heard about my team's mission being cancelled?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, I was wondering why dad hadn't left yet, so I…."

The two walked inside, continuing to chat and completely ignoring me. _'She's always like that when Akira is around.' _I thought irritated, as I walked in as well. _'They might as well get married or something.'_

"Nii-chan!" I heard a soft voice as I was pulling off my shoes, and saw my younger brother, Akio, standing in the hallway, half-hiding behind the wall. He came out and smiled widely at me, and his bright blue eyes lit up. Akio was a little shy and usually spoke in a soft voice. I didn't know whether he was insecure or just shy by nature, but I didn't think it was possible to change him. The last time I tried to help him act confident was….

"_Go on, champ! Go talk to her!" Katsuro encouraged his little brother. They were in the park and Akio wanted to ask a girl to come play with him in the sandbox, but he was a little too shy for that. Katsuro tried to convince him to at least try, and gave him a little push forward. Akio bit his lip and shook his head vehemently, determined not to go._

"_Don't wanna!" he cried, clutching Katsuro's arm. His brother sighed. _

"_Fine, then we'll do it the hard way!" Katsuro grabbed Akio by his little hand and started dragging him towards the girl who'd been jumping ropes. "Hey, kid!" he called, and the little girl stopped jumping. _

"_Hello." she greeted them with a cheerful smile. _

"_This boy wants to ask you something." Katsuro told her, pushing Akio forward. Akio almost tripped over his own feet and the girl quickly caught him before he fell. _

"_Watch out, silly!" the girl told him. Akio stared up at her with wide eyes and turned redder than a tomato. "You wanted to ask me something?" _

"_U-uhm, well, I-I-I…." Akio glanced at Katsuro for help, but Katsuro just winked. Akio looked back at the pretty little girl and gulped. "S-s-so... uh…. I w-w-wanted to…." Suddenly the girl leaned forward, staring at him intently. Akio looked like a statue. _

"_You're really cute!" the girl exclaimed. _

_Akio fainted._

Yeah, that didn't work out that well. In hindsight, I probably should've gently persuaded him to go, but whatever. Dad often said that Akio would be a real ladykiller when he got older, and said he looked like a chibi version of grandpa. Me? Well, apparently I got stuck with grandma's red hair. People (with people I mean Yukari's fanboys) used to call me tomato-head. Thanks, grandma. Yeah, I meant that sarcastically. Anyway, I managed to beat the word "tomato-head" out of them, but every once in a while there's some dumbass who thinks he can handle me.

"Hey, Akio!" I walked over to him and ruffled his spiky, puffy blond hair. "How was your day?"

"It was great! Me and momma went to the store!" he said happily, and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a little stuffed lion toy. "Here, I bought this for you!" I grinned and took the little toy gratefully.

"Really? Aw, now I feel guilty! I'll get you something next time too, okay? No joke!" I lifted the seven year old boy up and over my shoulder, carrying him into the living room. He laughed and giggled when I spun around, I was careful not to almost drop him like last time. The others had apparently been waiting for me, as I saw them sitting at the tall, ebony table but not eating. My mother, Hinata from the Hyuuga clan, was not only a great cook but also the most loving mother on earth. I was surprised seeing my dad sitting at the table as well, though. He wasn't wearing his orange Hokage-cloak.

"Hi, mom." I greeted her first, while putting Akio down on his seat.

"Hi, honey. How was your day?" she asked with a smile. She always remembered to smile lovingly and ask me how my day was whenever I got home from the Academy. Even if she was stressed or busy herself, she always made time for me.

"Fine," I answered, glaring at dad "it could've gone better though." My dad just chuckled but didn't respond. "Hey, did you take a break or what?" I then directly asked him.

"Yeah, I was _so _tired! Like, those old geezers sure love to whine!" he sighed jadedly. "They kept going on about me being too reckless and idealistic, you know, the usual stuff, and I told them, "man, I got it under control, stop worrying," but do they ever listen? Of course not!"

"I can see where they're coming from, though," Akira muttered. "Being too friendly with the rival villages never is a good thing." My dad stared at him, and laughed loudly.

"Now I'm getting lectured by a kid! If I wanted another lecture I would've just stayed in my office." In the back of my head, the incident with Ryuuji was still bugging me. What did he say again? Something about his family having sacrificed and suffered because of this village. What was that all about? Everyone knew that Sasuke Uchiha had been a Missing-Nin at one point, and that his brother, Itachi, had died in a battle as well. Now I thought about it, there really wasn't much I, and I'm guessing anyone else, knew about the Uchiha clan.

"Dad?" I asked, and he looked up at me. "How did Itachi Uchiha die?" There was a brief silence. I could feel an instant tension in the air when I mentioned that. Akira looked away and my dad tensed a little. Mom had pretended not to hear anything, but Mari seemed genuinely curious as well.

"He died in battle." dad answered shortly.

"I know, but who was his opponent?" I asked. He stared at me, his eyes warning that I shouldn't push it. But I had to know, what had really happened to that clan? It had to be the reason why Ryuuji was so frustrated all the time.

"Can't remember."

"I thought you said you knew Itachi! How could you forget the guy who killed him?"

"Katsuro," mom started, feeling that dad was starting to get impatient "we have a guest. You should ask these sort of questions another time."

'_These sort of questions? What is that supposed to mean? Either way, it has to be something scandalous.' _I frowned.

"But if it's not-"

"-Katsuro!" I flinched when dad suddenly yelled at me. Akio gasped and Mari's eyes were wide. Mom worriedly put her hand on dad's arm, but he didn't even seem to notice. Akira seemed to be the most calm out of all of us, as if he'd expected the reaction. "Enough. This isn't a joke." He abruptly got up from his chair and walked towards the door.

"Honey, where are you going?" Mom stood up as well.

"I have a lot on my mind, so I'm just going to take a walk now. I'll be back in an hour." he said without turning around once, and left the house. I frowned deeply.

What was bothering him?

* * *

><p>As if I didn't have enough on my mind, my son just had to go and ask about the issue that was bugging me the most. Sure, the village had eventually accepted Sasuke back, but there were always silent words and judgments lingering in the air. No one said it, but they were damn well thinking it. Can we trust him? Time and time again, the elders, and the entire council for that matter, had proved that they still had no intention on fully accepting him. That shouldn't be too surprising, seeing as how Sasuke had once aimed to kill them, but was he really the villain in this story? He'd settled down, hadn't he? Found a wife, a lovely young lady and a skilled kunoichi, started a family, and then, twelve years ago it all threatened to go horribly wrong.<p>

I was walking down the street, with no particular destination and sighed as I recalled the day Yukari had been born. It had been such a happy day. But the days that followed weren't. When Kazuya and Ryuuji had been born, of course people had been gossiping. Of course people had been wondering how those kids would turn out! But Sasuke always ignored the rumors. He always argued with the elders: one time it was about his position, the next it was about his family. Those old geezers did love to drag his private life into any discussion. Granted, Sasuke had mentioned several times he wanted to rebuild his clan, but apparently the elders took this the wrong way. They saw him as a threat still, but apparently his wife was an even greater threat.

The following days after Yukari's birth, his wife suddenly fell ill. Not even granny Tsunade or Sakura could cure her. Her conditioned worsened with the day, and just a month after her daughter's birth, she passed away. Then, there was an autopsy.

The cause of death was poison.

The elders, of course, pointed to a scapegoat, a young man who'd just recently joined the ANBU. To this day, he's still in the darkest dungeon cell we could find. That wasn't enough for Sasuke. He knew, we both knew, someone had given that man orders. But we couldn't find the person responsible. Another incident proving the current system doesn't work. In any case, Sasuke went ballistic. He was _this _close to killing them all, the entire council and any other guy who looked at him the wrong way, if I hadn't intervened. Ever since then, what little trust the elders had, had completely disappeared. They started hiring new guys as their subordinates to keep an eye on us, hell, I'm betting even the janitor is trying to spy on me or Sasuke.

They want him gone. They want _me _gone. Whatever chance they get to criticize me, they eagerly take it. There are only a few people I can completely trust now. But today, a forbidden topic was brought up by one of the elders during the routine morning-meetings. _Itachi._

I swear that the old man would've had his head cut off if I hadn't dragged Sasuke out of the room. Actually, I myself was really close to punching the guy in the face as well, but as the Hokage you gotta be mature, right?

I still wish I'd done it. A good, nice, clean jab right in against his nose, then _crack_! Broken bones for everyone!

I laughed at myself and rubbed my temples. Had I known that being the Hokage would cause me this much trouble, I might've considered refusing the job. I remember how I'd once been so excited about everything when I first started. Now I felt like I was a hundred years old and on my way to death. Bringing peace to the world was going to be mighty difficult if I couldn't even bring peace to my own village, let alone country.

The sun was setting. It was getting darker.

'_Where did that sixteen year old Naruto go,'_ I wondered. _'That kid that's always so positive, determined and cheerful, where is he?'_

I could really use him right now.

* * *

><p>"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"<p>

'_Damn, missed!' _I sighed when my brother easily dodged the large fireball I blew at him. He had a small smile on his lips, so at least I was making progress. Usually when I used this technique I got tired immediately afterwards, but I felt like pulling another jutsu out of my sleeve.

"I'm not done yet!" I yelled. I pulled three shuriken out of my bag and threw it towards him. While he tried to dodge it, I used chakra ropes, shooting them out of my right hand and trying to catch Kazuya with it. My chakra rope entangled his left arm, but he deflected the shuriken easily with a kunai. Suddenly he pulled the rope forward and we started a tug war, literally. I was slowly being pulled forward. Then I got an idea, and smirked. The rope turned into a flaming chakra rope and Kazuya let it go just in time before his arm got burnt by it.

"Hmm, clever. You're improving." he noted.

I felt cold metal against my neck and froze. _'Shit.'_

"But not enough." The Kazuya in front of me disappeared in a white smoke. The Kazuya behind me was the real one.

"A clone!" I frowned, disappointed and annoyed with myself. "I can't believe I didn't notice that before." My Sharingan only had one tomoe, right beneath my pupil, which was… pretty much useless most of the time. It was only good for copying someone's movements, that is, if you had the skills required to copy that person's movements. Kazuya removed the kunai and patted me on the head. I just kept on glaring at the ground, pissed that I had fallen for a trick like that.

"One day, you'll surpass me." he told me, with a serious look on his face. I blinked.

"You're kidding me!" I exclaimed. "I'd have to be at least Kage-level to surpass you!"

"Are you saying you're too weak? Pathetic."

"Shut up, Ryuuji." I shot him a glare. He'd just arrived a few seconds ago, and was leaning against a tree, watching both of us standing in the large clearing where we'd sparred. Kazuya sighed, he hated it when we bickered, which we did a lot. I just couldn't stand Ryuuji's constant condescending, and Ryuuji couldn't stand me trying to surpass him. Yes, I was determined to get a whole lot stronger than Ryuuji was so I could kick his ass one day! People often told him he was a lot like dad, which made me conclude that dad used to be an annoying prick when he was younger. Ryuuji seemed rather proud hearing that, though. Asshole.

"Just so you know, dad is out for tonight. But I'm not cooking this time!"

"Well, I'm not cooking either! I'm too tired!" We both looked at Kazuya, who raised his hands as if he were surrendering.

"I'll agree on one condition," he both looked at us with a frown "if either one of you start arguing I won't cook for the rest of this year. Which means father will have to endure your cooking, which means…." He didn't finish his sentence but we both knew what that meant. The last time Ryuuji made dinner, dad got sick and had to stay at home for a few days, missing out on all the meetings. Because Ryuuji only knew how to make miso-soup. Anything else and you were guaranteed to get food poisoning. That night, Ryuuji attempted to make something else, and failed horribly. Me and Kazuya were wise enough to pass, but dad had been really hungry that time and thought he could handle it. Within an hour he was puking.

Needless to say, afterwards he made Ryuuji do the dishes for a month.

As for me… everything I make usually tastes the same: way too spicy. Ryuuji and dad didn't seem to mind at all, but Kazuya just hated spicy food. The only one of the three of us who could cook well was Kazuya.

"F-fine!" I agreed reluctantly. All I had to do was keep my mouth shut. Ryuuji rolled his eyes but muttered an "okay" anyway.

"Alright, let's go home then. It's getting late."

* * *

><p>"A-ki-ra!" God, this guy managed to really piss me off sometimes. I just got home from eating at Mari's house, and I find <em>this <em>guy hanging around at my doorstep. Isao Inuzuka. A kid with messy blond hair, red marks on his cheeks, pronounced canine teeth and sharp black eyes. He just happened to be one of my closest friends, but he was way too social sometimes. What was he doing here, anyway?

"Hi." I muttered and opened my door, trying to ignore him.

"Hey, hey, hey! Where are you going?" Isao frowned, grabbing my arm and pulling me back. "Did you forget your promise?" I stared at him with an empty look in my eyes.

"Ehm… yes." I answered honestly, and Isao sighed deeply.

"You agreed to pick up some hotties tonight, man!"

'_Oh god. Oh GOD.' _I now remembered. Isao had been bothering me the other day while I was trying to sleep on a rooftop, so he'd probably asked me that stupid request and hoping to shut him up I mumbled a quick "yes". He still didn't shut up, though. Damn!

"Isao, listen. I can't go." I decided. Isao tilted his head to the side, as if he didn't understand what I was saying.

"Why not?" he whined, obviously saddened by my rejection. I could tell he'd been looking forward to it.

"I… I'm already in love." I lied tactfully, trying to look as if I were shy by glancing down at the ground a little, shifting my weight so I was leaning to the side and folding my arms tightly. He fell for it.

"Really? Really? Akira is in love? Who is it? I'm betting she's a babe!" Isao smirked widely at her. "You know, you seem like one of those guys who's probably stick with one girlfriend and even marry her later, you know, like your dad-"

"-Marry?"

"Is it MARI? You're in love with Mari? I KNEW it!" I facepalmed as he started to jump up and down.

"No, idiot, I didn't say "Mari", I said "marry"!" He stopped jumping and stared at me in confusion. I realized there was barely any difference in the pronunciation and gave up.

"Yeah, you got me, it's Mari. Now piss off." I walked inside my house and slammed the door shut. _'Idiot.'_

* * *

><p>"Mari! Mari!" I opened the window of my room and found no one other than Isao standing in our backyard. He seemed incredibly excited, which wasn't that unusual, but seeing as how he was here, it had to be something exciting involving <em>me<em>.

"What is it, Isao? It's getting late, why are you here?"

"Akira is in love with you!"

'_Akira is in love with me. Yeah, that's-' _I frowned, slowly letting the news sink in. _'Akira? Love? With me?'_ Isao was still grinning like an idiot.

"He told me himself! Ne, Mari-chan, you should definitely ask him out. You know he's not the type to ask a girl out, even if he's in love with them, and, Mari? Mari, you're looking a little pale, are you okay?"

I shut my window, walked over to my bed and lied down.

Then I realized what those words meant.

And I had a black-out.

* * *

><p><strong>Phew, it's over!<strong>

**So, you got a little plot, a little romance, a little battle and a little comedy.**

**Be pleased and review. Now.**

**Mari Uzumaki  
>A chuunin in a team together with Isao Inuzuka and Noboru Akimichi as fellow teammates and Shikamaru Nara as their sensei. She's very intelligent and observant, always composed and sweet, but (like her mother) doesn't know how to handle love. Her best friends are Akira Nara and Isao Inuzuka. She's very protective of her two younger brothers and often helps her mother around the house whenever she can. She has a serious phobia for spiders and despises anything that looks like it. Her name is written as (<strong>**茉莉****) in kanji, and means 'jasmine'. **

**Akio Uzumaki  
>A seven year old kid who's very introverted, especially when it comes to girls, but otherwise cheerful, quiet and good-natured. He especially looks up to his older brother and father, and wants to be like them when he grows up. His name is written as (<strong>**昭雄****) in kanji and means 'glorious hero'. **

**Ryuuji Uchiha  
>Seventeen years old and a successful jonin who usually ignores most people who he deems aren't worth his time and doesn't like to talk too much. Lately he's been angry a lot. He acts condescendingly towards his sister, but it's mostly to see whether she has the determination to go on and to get stronger. He almost always listens to Kazuya, and never disobeys his father. His name is written as (<strong>**龍児****) in kanji, and means 'dragon child'. **

**Akira Nara  
>Fourteen years old, a chuunin in a team with Shizuka Umino and Hideki Hyuuga as fellow teammates and Rock Lee as their sensei, which is a generally horrible combination for Akira, as he's just lazy and loves to sleep but Rock Lee is a ball of energy. His mother is Temari, originally from Sunagakure, and his father is Shikamaru Nara. Akira often used to complain that Isao should've been in his team instead of Akira. He's gotten used to it by now, though, and is generally used as the brains of the team, considering his incredibly high intellect. He usually hangs out with Mari Uzumaki or Isao Inuzuka. His name is written as (<strong>**明****) in kanji, and means 'bright'. **

**Isao Inuzuka  
>Fourteen year old chuunin in a team with Mari Uzumaki, Noboru Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara. He's very energetic and social, popular with the girls as well. He hangs out mostly with Akira Nara or Noboru. His mother is Ino Yamanaka and his father is Kiba Inuzuka. He doesn't have his own dog yet, but will get one in a few days after he graduates. His name is written as (<strong>**功****) in kanji, and means 'honor'. **

**Writing these bios is getting annoying. **

**So, you should appreciate the work I'm putting into this, and show me you appreciate me by reviewing.**

**Yes? **

**:3**


	3. Team Lucky

**Well, FINALLY. **

**To NightFlowerLuv (since for some reason the reply-to-review system isn't working): No, that would be kinda weird. The Uzumaki clan has always had the Jinchuuriki of Konoha, it would be really weird if an Uchiha suddenly had one, don't you think? Besides, I have no idea how I would have to write that in the first place. Like, how the hell would the Kyuubi go from Naruto to Yukari? Haha, now I think about it, that would actually make her incredibly Mary Sue-ish. **

**ANYWAY, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!**

**Enjoy, or not.**

* * *

><p>"…then, Team Nova will include Saki Sarutobi, Naoki Hyuuga and Masato Aburame. Lastly, the final team, Team Lucky, will be Katsuro Uzumaki, Hiroki Haruno and Yukari Uchiha, which-"<p>

"-SENSEI!" Tomato-head immediately got up from his seat, flailing his arms. I sighed in annoyance. Team Lucky? It should be named team Unlucky: I couldn't believe I'd been set up with this bonehead.

"What is it, Katsuro?" Takao-sensei glared at him, clearly getting impatient. A vein on the side of his head popped up, and I swear he looked like he was about to commit a murder. Uzumaki, being the idiot that he was, ignored this sign and continued speaking instead of doing the sensible thing and sitting down.

"Can I be placed in another team on the account of my current team being complete bullshit?"

"SIT YOUR ASS DOWN, UZUMAKI!" He eventually complied, scowling and cussing softly. Me and Hiroki looked at each other, thinking the same thing: _'Are we really in a team with this guy?' _Takao-sensei calmed down and continued to inform us that our respectable teachers would each meet up with us after class. He told our team to wait in the classroom, while the other teams were sent to different locations. I wondered who our teacher would be. I had a few people in mind, but it could be a new one as well.

"Hey, Yukari?" Hiroki whispered while Takao was giving a lengthy speech about how we were supposed to behave like real ninjas now. I looked at him expectantly. "Do you think we'll survive that guy?" he asked me while gesturing to Katsuro. I thought about it long and hard.

"He isn't stupid, that's for sure. He _is _the second best student in class, after all. But he's also the embodiment of impatience." I bit on my lower lip. "We'll survive, I suppose. That is, if our teacher isn't a total idiot."

* * *

><p>The door nearly broke as someone kicked it in with brute force. Hiroki hid under the table, while Uzumaki just tripped over his own feet, completely taken by surprise, and fell back on the ground. I was the only one who responded aggressively by pulling out a kunai and holding it ready, prepared for the worst. From what I'd heard from my two brothers, the person that got assigned to us was one of the top jounin in town and not someone to mess with. A lean, young man stood in the door opening, his hair was messy and white, and he had dark eyes and light skin. He first stared at me, then at Hiroki who'd immediately taken cover, and seemed to approve. Then he walked over to Katsuro, who just gazed up at him.<p>

"_You_ are the weakest link." he established. Uzumaki's jaw dropped as me and Hiroki started laughing.

"Oi! Do you even know who I am? I'm Katsuro Uzumaki, and I'm a hell of a lot better than those two, no joke!" he yelled at the man, who just looked at him as if Uzumaki were a mentally retarded child having a temper tantrum. Which was, mostly, true.

"You're an Uzumaki, you say?" the guy smirked. "Then why don't you act like one?" Uzumaki was at a loss for words (priceless moment right there) and the man turned around and walked out, gesturing us to follow him. Me and Hiroki got up and followed immediately, Uzumaki was last. We walked outside, and the man sat down on a tree stump. The three of us sat on the grass in front of him.

'_Okay, so far this guy seems alright.' _I thought, watching him closely.

"Introductions?"

"Eh? What, just like that? Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Hiroki responded with a frown. The man sighed.

"Fine, if a simple introduction is too much for you kids to handle. My name is Minoru Hatake." There was a silence. "That's it. Your turn."

"Whaaaaat? That's not a proper introduction! You didn't tell us anything else!" Uzumaki complained. Minoru rolled his eyes.

"I like the color blue."

"That's still not enough!"

"What's this, an interview? Just get on with yours already. Name, hobbies, aspirations, go!" Hiroki was the first to respond to that.

"My name is Hiroki Haruno. I like hanging out with Yukari-chan, drawing and… uh, that's it. I want to take over the hospital from my mom later!" He announced cheerfully. Minoru nodded approvingly.

"That's good, so I suppose you already know a thing or two about medical ninjutsu." Minoru now looked at Uzumaki, who was still glaring at him.

"I'm Katsuro Uzumaki! I like ramen and… and other stuff! And I'm gonna be the next Hokage, no joke!" he announced loudly, and Minoru leaned forward, interested.

"Oho? How are you going to accomplish such a feat, pray tell?" Uzumaki was silent, blinking twice. "I see. Now, your turn, miss." the man said to me in an amused manner.

"Yukari Uchiha. I like Hi- I mean, spending time with Hiroki-" I glanced at Hiroki who was blushing "-and I guess becoming a jounin and completing missions is enough for me." I continued in a composed manner. Uzumaki made a gagging sound though, and Hiroki elbowed him in the side.

"Ow!" Uzumaki glared at him, but Hiroki just ignored it and I chuckled. We'd always been like this. Either me or Hiroki squabbled with Uzumaki, while the other one watched and laughed.

"_Hey, Yukari-chan, look what I found!" A little Hiroki ran towards a little Yukari with his short legs, who was sitting on top of a hill filled with yellow daffodils and white daisies. They were both nine years old, enjoying the afternoon together. He had a smile on his face, and was holding something blue in his little palm, sticking it out and basically shoving it into little Yukari's face. Yukari sneezed, pushing his hand away._

"_What's that?" Yukari asked curiously as she rubbed her nose. Her hair was in a long braid, and she was wearing a red dress with a white, red-dotted coat. It was spring, but there was a lot of wind that day. Hiroki grabbed her hand and pushed the flower in it. Yukari got a good look at the flower and was shocked. It was a blue lily, her favorite flower in her favorite color._

"_See? See? Isn't it pretty?" Hiroki sat down next to her, and his own grin widened when he saw her smile. Because her face was usually so blank, when she smiled it was like a flower blooming in the spring. He always loved seeing her smile. _

"_Where did you get it?" she asked, studying it very carefully, as if she was afraid it would suddenly wilt. _

"_I just stumbled on it on my way here, really. You can have it." he said with a light blush. Yukari seemed overjoyed._

"_Really? That's so sweet of you! I'll take good care of it, I will, and then I'll get you one too!" she promised. Hiroki grabbed the flower from her and gently put it behind her ear._

"_That looks good on you," he muttered and Yukari chuckled. She didn't do that chuckling or laughing with anyone else, besides maybe her older brother Kazuya. _

"_But it doesn't match my clothes. Maybe I should wear it with something white and blue?" _

"_Gotcha!" Suddenly, Yukari was tackled from behind. Hiroki saw a flash of red and immediately recognized Katsuro, but it was too late; he and Yukari were already rolling off the hill. Hiroki hurried down as fast as he could, and saw the two land in a few bushes. Yukari was screaming at him and Katsuro was laughing. She kicked him off, and got up herself. The first thing she checked was her hair for the flower, but the flower was half-gone. Three of the four petal were missing. She pulled it out of her hair, and a sad expression flashed on her face, but it quickly changed into anger._

"_You idiot! Look what you did to Hiroki-kun's flower!" she shouted angrily, holding out the miserable flower for Katsuro to see. Katsuro frowned, not understanding her anger._

"_It's just a stupid flower!" That seemed to be the last straw for Yukari. Granted, Katsuro couldn't have understood the significance of that flower, but Yukari was just nine and really pissed off._

"_I __**hate **__you!" Both Hiroki and Katsuro were shocked, and Yukari ran away from them before she got out of control and did Katsuro some permanent damage. Katsuro, trying to pretend that hadn't affected him, folded his arms and huffed annoyed. She'd scolded at him in the past, but never said anything like that with such a fire in her eyes. Hiroki, however, was angry at him as well for making Yukari upset._

"_Why did you do that? She loved that flower!" Hiroki scolded him. Katsuro seemed rather offended._

"_What's so special about that flower, anyway?"_

"_I gave it to her, stupid! But now you destroyed her present!"_

"_I didn't even see the flower! I didn't know it was a present!"_

"_The least you could do is apologize!"_

I probably overreacted. Contrary to popular belief in town, I can actually let my emotions get the best of me. That did happen a lot, and strangely enough only with Uzumaki. He just had this something that managed to set off such strong emotions within me, and it pissed me off to no end. I probably was unnecessarily rude and bitchy to him, but what can I say? My social skills have always been rather lacking, and that's why I try to at least stay calm and cool most of the time. And I was kind of egotistical sometimes, I mean, he couldn't have known how precious that flower was to me, but I let my anger get the better of me.

You know, I really did like that flower. Not just because it was pretty, but because I knew Hiroki had put a lot of effort into finding it, and he'd given it to me. Then Uzumaki had came and wrecked it, like he always did. Somehow he always managed to ruin almost everything. That whole incident was just one of the many instances where he'd either wrecked my stuff, or insulted me in some way. The first time we'd met, I'd tried to be polite, really. But then he just had to go and make a remark about how pointy my nose was! I know my nose is pointy, no need for you to point it out (pun unintended). The least he could've done was apologize, but he didn't even do that!

I didn't mean what I'd said though. I didn't_ really_ hate him, how could I? We were practically raised together! That does create some sort of bond, whether you want to or not.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that we were friends, but I don't think I could ever really hate him.

Hating on the mentally handicapped is just mean.

* * *

><p>"Uh… what are we doing here?" Hiroki asked the teacher when we arrived at an all too familiar scene: the big hill filled with flowers. Ah, good times at this hill. I remember tackling Uchiha here once, and then she got all upset over some stupid flower. Whatever. Minoru looked down at him with a smirk, but didn't say anything, walking to the top of the hill. We followed him and when we finally got at the top, he halted and turned around to face the three of us.<p>

"If you want to officially graduate, you need to pass this final test." he stated formally, his arms folded across his chest.

'_He's joking, right?'_

"What? But I thought we were already ninjas!" I exclaimed, the outrage clear in my voice.

"Not quite. You still have one obstacle to overcome."

"What is that obstacle?"

"Me." Minoru said amused, and we simultaneously frowned. I frowned even deeper when I realized the other two copied my frown.

"_You_? You mean we need to beat you in battle?" Uchiha asked, and I saw her hand already reaching for a kunai. Minoru shook his head.

"No, you need to catch me." Everyone was silent for a brief moment. Then I decided to make the first move. I took a step forward and grabbed the man's arm.

"Got you."

"Katsuro, that doesn't count."

"Why the hell not?" I asked, releasing his arm again.

"I didn't say "go" yet." I blinked, then grabbed his arm for a second time. Minoru sighed.

"Katsuro-"

"-You said go!" Hiroki laughed (probably at me) and Uchiha just rolled her eyes. Minoru jerked his arm away and I nearly tripped by the sudden force.

"Alright, we'll do it again! If you can't catch me by sunset, I'll win and you'll all fail. Whoever catches me is guaranteed to graduate and become a Genin. Believe me, I won't go easy on you, so give me your all. You can use anything in your arsenal, understood?" We nodded. "Good. Then, go!"

It happened so fast I didn't even have a chance to grab him. I reached for his arm again but he was already gone. At the same time, both Hiroki and Uchiha had reached for him as well, and the three of us collided.

"Dammit, Uzumaki!" Uchiha cursed, rubbing her forehead.

"How is this my fault? You should've just been more careful!"

"Whatever. I'm not going to waste my time talking to you. Let's go, Hiroki. We don't need this guy." She wanted to leave, but Hiroki stopped her. "What's wrong?" she asked him annoyed. He glanced at me once before he spoke to her.

"I think we're gonna need him for this." Uchiha obviously disapproved, judging from the furrowing of her eyebrows and the glare directed towards me. "Think about it, he's second in class, which means he'll probably be more useful than me." She thought about it for a long time before she finally reached a decision.

"Fine. I cannot let my emotions get in the way of graduation." her coal-black eyes pierced right through me. I hated it when she did that. "What do you say?"

"If you can keep up with me, then alright, I guess." I muttered, folding my arms. "So, what's the game plan?" Uchiha looked at Hiroki.

"Hiroki, you're a sensor type, right?"

"Yeah, but… you know, I'm not that good yet," he started, scratching the back of his head, but she wouldn't hear any of his excuses.

"Please try, at the very least." Hiroki sighed, and closed his eyes, concentrating deeply while Uchiha then looked at me. "The moment Hiroki locates him, one of us needs to try and chase him towards the other." I immediately grasped the logic in this.

"Since he thinks we hate each other he won't suspect us working together, right? Good plan. Who'll chase him?"

"You do chase him, since you suck at ninjutsu _and _suppressing your chakra. I'll ambush him and trap him with fire, then you use a net to capture him, alright?"

"What? I do _not _suck at that stuff, okay? I just… don't need it, that's all." I huffed offended. Uchiha rolled her eyes.

"Compared to me you do suck. I can't believe you're second in class with ninjutsu that's _that _pathetic." I clenched my jaw.

"I don't think I like this plan!" Actually, I did, but she just pissed me off by acting all high-and-mighty so now I was getting stubborn.

"I don't care, it's the most efficient way of catching him."

"Screw that, I'm perfectly capable of capturing him by myself!" Uchiha whistled as if she were impressed. I raised my eyebrows. She eventually responded, with a smirk.

"You know words that have more than two syllables! Impressive."

"Now listen you-"

"-Guys, I found him!" Hiroki interrupted us, panicked. The both of us stared at him.

"Well, where is he?" Uchiha asked.

"Right here. Hi, guys!" Minoru stood near a few trees, and waved cheerfully at us. I was the first to instinctively react, and shot towards him with a kunai clenched in my hand. At least there was one thing that Uchiha would never beat me in, and that was speed. I knew that my attack would fail, but it was merely a test to measure his speed against mine. Minoru skillfully dodged my attacks, and landed a kick in my chest, sending me flying back. So now it was a fact that attacking him head on wouldn't even be worth as a good distraction. Hiroki caught me, and Uchiha quickly approached Minoru and used her fire release, probably to try and trap him anyway.

"Katon: Hibashiri¹!" she created a small stream of fire, that tried to circle around Minoru, but before it could close the circle and trap him, Minoru escaped from the only opening faster than Uchiha's fire could react. By then I'd already gotten up and threw three Shuriken toward him, using my wind natured chakra to make them go faster, but he blocked them with a kunai nonetheless. Faster than we could follow, he sank into the earth, and suddenly popped up next to Hiroki and me, though I had my back turned to him so I was extra vulnerable. When Hiroki tried to cover me, Minoru landed a quick punch in his stomach, then grabbed him by his shirt and threw him away like a ragdoll.

I narrowed my eyes, and tried to escape as facing him head on would not only be reckless but incredibly stupid. However, he expected that, and a roundhouse kick sent me rolling off the hill. It was painful, I'll tell you that much. After about ten seconds of rolling down, I slammed into a tree and I could feel a painful cracking sound coming from my shoulder, and a sharp pain shooting through my arm.

"Shit!" I hissed in pain, and looked up. There was no way we'd catch him like that. I could see flames shooting around from the top of the hill, but then it ended. I wondered if Uchiha got her ass handed to her, but then I saw her coming towards me, carrying Hiroki over her shoulder. She slid down to me from the top of the hill, as running with Hiroki would probably result in her tripping and falling down, and I was a little disappointed to see she hadn't been defeated.

'_Damn, she can do anything, can't she?' _I felt like slapping myself when I realized I was actually admiring her, even if it was for a second. She stopped right next to me, and put a knocked out Hiroki against the tree I'd slammed into. She stared at me with a contemplative look on her face, before she started glaring.

"If you'd just agreed with my plan, this would've never happened." she eventually muttered, annoyed with me. I blinked several times, and really started to get pissed.

"Oh, put all the blame on me, why don't you!" I yelled at her. "It's never _your_ fault, because _you're_ miss perfect, right?" Uchiha rubbed her temples.

"Instead of proposing a strategy of your own, you decided to ridicule mine simply because you weren't the person who would catch him, thus successfully wasting our time and giving him a chance to sneak up on us. So, you _do_ deserve all the blame." I was baffled. Not because she was partly right, but because she wouldn't admit that she'd provoked me into refusing her plan in the first place!

"If you'd never offended me by saying I suck at ninjutsu, I would've probably agreed!" I accused her angrily. "The blame is not entirely on me, but you won't see that because you're an egotistical bitch who thinks she's flawless!"

A second later I felt a stinging sensation in my right cheek. My hand automatically reacted by grabbing her black jacket and slamming her against a tree. We were glowering in each other's eyes, ready to tear the other up.

"Daddy gave you practically everything, didn't he?" she spat her words out like venom from a snake. "Private training from the Hokage and some of the best ninjas in town. They just handed you everything on a silver plate!" I pressed her harder against the rough exterior of the tree.

"I had to train for all of that! I had to work my ass off to make everyone's expectations of me come true! Unlike you, you were just born with all that talent!" I growled.

"Born with it?" she repeated, her eyes widening in outrage. "My _brothers _were born geniuses and prodigies! Me? Dad wouldn't even train me, he wouldn't even teach me anything, nor would my brothers! I had to learn everything by studying dozens of books, because apparently, if you're not born a naturally gifted Uchiha, no one is there to help you." I didn't know what to say. She pushed me away, and it was one of those rare moments where I saw her hurt expression. I'd always imagined her to be just a natural. But to not even by supported by your family?

"I didn't…." I could barely think of what to say anymore.

"I hate you, Uzumaki. I hate you, and everything you stand for." She resolutely turned around and left. I stood there like a statue for a few seconds. The look in her eyes had been so fierce, that I couldn't help but think she truly hated me. This had been only the second time she'd ever said that to me, and it somehow stung worse than the first time she'd said it. Maybe because I knew she hadn't meant it the first time. This time, though, might be a different story.

I didn't even think about the exam anymore. Yeah, we'd had a lot of fights, called each other a lot of names and had a widely known rivalry going on. But hate? I didn't feel anything remotely close to that. Maybe she did, but I certainly didn't. She'd just always been someone I was determined to surpass, and sometimes even secretly admired. But because I'd rather die than let her know I looked up to her, I was always just acting rude towards her.

I sighed, putting a hand through my hair.

'_I really screwed up this time.' _I thought jadedly. There was no way she was ever going to forgive me. I'd never even asked for forgiveness or apologized before, but even I could see I'd gone a little too far, so far that even asking for forgiveness might not work out well.

A speck of blue caught my attention when I glanced over to Hiroki. Right next to him, a blue flower.

"A lily?" I muttered in myself. I remembered then, very vividly, the flower I'd ruined one day. It had also been a blue lily, and extremely rare in these parts. It had also been a flower Hiroki had found, and now it was right next to him. A great idea popped into my head. Hiroki probably would be safe, since the woods were still secured parts of Konoha, so I plucked the flower and went in the direction Uchiha had stormed off to.

* * *

><p>I wondered what those kids were up to. The real test had been to make them work together, and for a second, in the beginning, it had seemed as if they were going to pass without much trouble, but then Yukari and Katsuro had started arguing. I had let Yukari escape, since chasing them would be practically the opposite of the assignment I'd given them, and decided to watch from a distance. I saw another heated argument between the two kids while Hiroki was unconscious. Yukari stormed off, furious and upset. Then, Katsuro did a most curious thing: he plucked a flower and went off in the direction she'd gone to.<p>

It seemed the kid wanted to apologize with a flower. A very rare one, at that. When Katsuro had left, I grabbed Hiroki, swung him over my shoulder and went the same direction they went. Because really, this was something I just _had _to see.

'_If he really believes she'll forgive him by just offering a flower, he's truly naïve.' _I finally found them, Yukari kept walking on trying to ignore him, while Katsuro was chasing after her. Eventually he grabbed her wrist and they both stopped. I carefully got closer, putting Hiroki down behind some bushes, and listened in on the conversation.

"What do you want?" Yukari snapped at him, visibly upset. Katsuro took a deep breath, and suddenly seemed not to know how to behave. He was nervously glancing around, scratching his nose as he held the flower behind his back. I watched amused, waiting for the rejection that seemed inevitable. Yukari was getting impatient, and was about to leave again when Katsuro stopped her.

"Wait, I… well, I wanted to, ya know, apologize to you about what I said and stuff, so I found you something." he mumbled, and I could just barely make out the words.

'_Good thing I know how to read lips,' _

Katsuro pulled out the lily and showed her. Yukari's expression changed from shocked, to confused, to genuinely happy. Her eyes just lit up, and I was a little surprised that her usually so blank face was capable of doing that.

"You remembered?" she asked him, surprised but mostly happy. Katsuro seemed a little overwhelmed for a second, probably not used to seeing Yukari like that. He slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I also, wanted to make up for ruining your flower back then. I never really apologized for that, so, when I saw the flower, I thought it would be appropriate." He explained it slowly, obviously still trying to grasp the concept of a joyful Yukari. Then, she smiled, and I tried to hold back my laughter when I saw Katsuro almost getting dazzled by it. Obviously, Yukari didn't smile very often, if at all.

"Thank you. For once, you did something nice." she looked back at her flower, her smile fading away. "I suppose it _was _partially my fault." she admitted after a moment of silence, then looked back up at Katsuro, who was studying her face as if she were a rare animal. I was chuckling softly at the display.

"Did you just _smile_?" he eventually asked. Yukari sighed, irritated.

"Yes, and if you keep being an idiot it'll probably be the last time you'll ever see it." Katsuro muttered something and even with his lips vaguely moving I couldn't understand it, but it seemed to amuse Yukari. "My heart isn't made out of stone, Uzumaki. I am actually capable of feeling."

"You can _feel?" _

"How very funny. What did you do to Hiroki, anyway?"

"Nothing. Just left him there. Figured he'd be safe enough." There was another awkward silence. Obviously, they weren't used to be friendly with each other. "So, we fail the graduation test, I guess. Time's almost up and there's no way we can catch him now."

"I think you're right. But, there's always the next year, and if we work together then, I'm sure we'll ace it." Katsuro decided to stay optimistic, and there was the faintest trace of a smile to see on Yukari's lips.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. We'll work together."

'_That's my cue.'_

"YOU PASS!" I screamed, jumping out from behind the tree I'd been hiding. Katsuro jumped backwards and Yukari threw a kunai at me I dodged in the nick of time. "Wow, calm down."

"We… what the hell do you mean, we pass?" Yukari said, scowling at me. Katsuro was just gaping at me.

"Well, the _real _test was to make you two work together." There was a silence.

"OH COME ON! That's so LAME! Seriously, I thought this was going to be like, an ultimate test of awesome ninja skills, not some douchy, cliché "work together" test crap. Please, if I had like, one kumi for every time I heard that bull I would be the richest person on the planet. No joke, man."

"I second that, though I'd put it in a more eloquent way." Katsuro now glared at her.

"You have a problem with the way I talk, Uchiha?"

"Actually, I do, Uzumaki. It's loud and obnoxious. Stop it." Hiroki then woke up, and walked over to the two, asking them what the hell was going on. They informed him, and instead of reacting outraged, he simply laughed. This caused another argument between him and Katsuro, which led to another argument between Katsuro and Yukari, which ultimately resulted in a fist-fight.

I facepalmed.

'_Fuck my life.'_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Katon: Hibashiri¹; Fire Release: Running Fire.<strong>_

_**GOSH, FINALLY. It took me ages to finish this chapter, mostly 'cause I got preoccupied with schoolwork. But now, the teachers have granted me mercy, so I'll be back to updating lots again. NEXT CHAPTER, will be, mainly, about how Katsuro handles his bet, and other minor characters being featured (ya know, the whole Mari-Akira situation going on?).**_

_**TIME FOR A BIO.**_

_**Minoru Hatake  
>A top jounin, who (unlike his dad, Kakashi Hatake) keeps his porn-collection away from his job. He's twenty-one years old, gets into frequent arguments with his mother, <strong>__**Anko Mitarashi, and has a hate-love relationship with candy. As in, he hates himself for loving candy, as he puts on weight from it, which means he needs to train extra hard, which means getting off his lazy ass and doing something other than reading porn in his free time. He is close friends with Kazuya, but thinks Ryuuji is just incredibly annoying. His name is written as (**_**實****) in kanji, meaning 'truth'.**

_**REVIEWS MAKE YUKA-CHAN SMILE. SO PLEASE REVIEW? :3**_


	4. Rotation, rotation, rotation!

**The next chapter is here!**

…

**That's really all I have to say. **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>I woke up that Sunday morning with a big grin on my face. I fully remembered the dream I had, where I'd been wearing my dad's Hokage cloak and owning every enemy on my path with a gigantic Rasengan. Today was the day. I would be learning the A-rank technique of Konoha's Yellow Flash. I'd finally have a technique that could rival the Chidori Yukari was probably learning from her dad! I got up from my bed and almost took a sprint to my bathroom, taking a quick shower and brushing my teeth like my life depended on it.<p>

When I came rushing downstairs Mari and mom were preparing breakfast in the kitchen while Akio was studying chess pieces in the living room. He'd ask Mari about the function about every chess piece and carefully placed them into order. That kid was really going to be a complete geek if he kept trying to learn chess. Any other kid his age would've rather gone outside and played with friends. That's what I usually did, at least.

"Good morning, sleepy head." Mari greeted me when I walked into the kitchen, without even giving me a glance. Usually I would still be in my pajamas.

"Wow, you're completely dressed." mom said impressed when she saw me.

"Special occasion." I said with a shrug and sat down at the table as Mari served me food. She seemed a little anxious and fidgety. The tray she was holding was shaking lightly. "Mari? Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. It wasn't like her to get sick. Her eyes were glassy, as if she was staring right past me. "Mari?" She blinked twice, and faked a smile. As if I wouldn't see through that.

"I'm fine! Just a little tired." she spoke hurriedly and sat down herself. Akio and mom joined us. Dad was probably already in his office; there was an ambassador of Kirigakure in town, probably to discuss trade routes between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. Lately communication and trading had been more common between the countries. Still sounded incredibly boring though.

I quickly choked down any food on my plate and got up, saying bye to the others and leaving immediately. Minoru-sensei had told us that tomorrow we'd be getting our very first mission, so today we had time to train and prepare ourselves. Konohamaru-sensei had promised to teach me at least the basics of making a Rasengan, so I was completely pumped up and ready. I took a sprint to the A2 training ground, a wide, open field with numerous trees surrounding it. I spotted Konohamaru-sensei sitting against the tree, smoking a cigarette. I frowned at that, as I hated the smell of smoke.

"Sensei!" I waved and ran towards him. He glanced at me and got up, throwing his cigarette on the ground and nonchalantly stepping on it.

"Ready for the lesson?" he asked with a grin.

"Yeah, just tell me what to do already!"

"Well, firstly, you need to master your chakra control." I, who'd been nearly jumping up and down in excitement, now stopped and stared at him.

"Why?" I asked puzzled. Konohamaru leaned against the tree.

"Me and your dad never needed to learn that since we used our shadow clones. But you're a smart kid. Well, a lot smarter than we were at that age. I mean, I used to suck at chakra control,"

"Sensei, you're rambling."

"Right. Anyway, the Rasengan technique is actually the pure manipulation of chakra. If you don't have enough chakra control, you won't be able to mold your chakra into the Rasengan and fail. Understand?" I nodded.

"So, how do I master chakra control?" I asked eagerly. Konohamaru thought in silence for a moment before he responded.

"There are several ways of doing it. Climbing trees and walking on water is the most efficient way of doing it. So, since there is no water nearby, run up to the highest point of this tree behind me." He told me, pointing at the tall, sturdy tree with thick, dark leaves. I looked up at the tree, and guessed it to be about thirty feet tall. Chakra control had always been an area where Yukari had excelled at, but I was determined to learn the Rasengan and a basic skill like this wasn't going to stand in my way!

I concentrated, putting all my focus on my feet and trying to direct my chakra there. After a few seconds, I ran towards the try and tried to run up it, but I'd lost my focus and my chakra flowed back. I fell down, and groaned. Konohamaru walked over to me.

"You can't lose your focus when you're running up the tree, ey. The chakra won't stay in your feet automatically. You need to learn to keep it there." He told me, though I'd already figured out what had happened. I'd felt the chakra scatter, because I was so focused to reach the top I hadn't been paying attention to my feet anymore.

"Right, right. Let me try that again."

'_That stupid Uchiha could do this back in the Academy! Come on, I can't let that jerk beat me!' _I prepped myself. This time, the focus on my feet while running was better, and I actually reached the top. Though, it was a little difficult, I mastered the art of walking on a tree after three tries.

"Good, now you've semi-mastered that-"

"-Semi-mastered? Hey, I'm a full master at chakra control!" I complained. He rolled his eyes.

"Focusing your chakra is still far from manipulating it into a shape, kid." He pulled out a little bag from behind another tree. Curiously I walked over and peered into the bag, seeing it was filled with several colorful balls.

"I assume you're gonna use these to help train me to manipulate my chakra?" I said, since the next step in my training would be to learn how to mould my chakra into a shape.

"Bingo, genius." Konohamaru pulled out a blue ball with red clouds on it. He threw it and I caught it, noticing that there was water inside it. "Rotate the water inside this, using only your chakra, until it bursts." I frowned, but didn't question it as Konohamaru wasn't one to make his students waste their time.

'_First step, concentrate your chakra into your hand,' _It went smoothly _'second, focus your chakra into the ball,' _This took me a while longer to do. Stupid ball. Stupid chakra.

"Havin' trouble, kid?" Konohamaru asked. He'd gone back to sitting against the tree, lighting up another cigarette.

"No!" I snapped, and finally managed to get my chakra into the ball. _'Now rotate. Rotate, dammit!' _It didn't take a minute and I was already yelling at my own hand.

"Ehm… kid?"

"ROTATE! URGH!" I was shaking the ball, as if that would help me in some way. Konohamaru got up and took the ball out of my hand.

"Alright, obviously your chakra control isn't nearly skilled enough. You can channel it fine to your feet, but not to your hand. So, do a handstand, and use the chakra to walk on your hands. Do it until you feel you've mastered it, then try again with the ball."

"Fine! I can do this! I'll do it in no time!" I pulled off my dark brown jacket and threw it to the side. I stood on my hands, which went fine. Then I focused my chakra on my hands and arms to keep me steady as I carefully made steps. "How long do I have to walk?" I yelled at Konohamaru, after having walked for half a minute.

"That's up to you." Konohamaru lazily replied. So, of course I stopped and grabbed the ball, trying to burst it again. Failure. I walked, tried the ball, and walked, tried the ball again and walked for a third time, still not satisfied. I could feel there was still plenty of chakra left in the rest of my body, and tried to focus that as well, which was a lot harder. I was so focused I didn't see the pair of black boots in front of me and nearly bumped into them.

"What the hell are you doing?" an amused voice asked me. I tried to look up, and recognized my cousin, Naoki Hyuuga. He had long, straight, dark brown hair and the Byakugan, naturally.

"I'm practicing!" I exclaimed, trying to walk around him.

'_They should really invent another word for walking on your hands, though. Like… handing? Halking? Wanding?'_ Of course, thinking about this made me lose my focus and I fell down on my back.

"Seems like you're not doing a very good job." Naoki commented with his stupid smartass-y grin. I sighed and got up, wiping the dirt off my pants.

"That's because you're distracting me! Shouldn't you be on a mission, or something?" I replied annoyed, glancing at Konohamaru who'd fallen asleep with the cigarette hanging from his half-open mouth. I grabbed the ball and tried to rotate the water in it again as I glanced at Naoki.

"I was on my way, but then I saw you acting like a circus clown so I figured I'd come and say hi. You're not focusing enough chakra there, by the way."

'_Stupid Byakugan.' _

"Ha ha. You're so funny. You should do stand-up comedy. In a circus. A touring circus, so you can leave this village and forever stay away. 'Kay? Now if you'll excuse me, I got an A-rank technique to learn." I turned my back on him and walked away, not in the mood for jokes. I could almost imagine Naoki pouting, since I usually did joke along with him.

"Fine, be like that. Though it's not gonna help you beat Yukari now." he commented nonchalantly. I spun around, looking at him with interest. He rolled his eyes. "Really? I mention Yukari _once _and you suddenly get all interested?"

"Whatever. Just explain yourself."

"Fine. Rumor has it that she already mastered the Chidori, and now is even training to master the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"What? Are you kidding me? Kazuya and Ryuuji didn't even master that technique!" Naoki simply shrugged unimpressed. "Where is she?" I asked as I put on my jacket and put the ball in my pocket, completely forgetting my training.

"D7 training ground, just a couple of- hey! What about your A-rank technique?"

"I have plenty of time!" I called as I took a sprint towards the D7 training ground. It was made of pure rocks and hard stone, perfect to throw your most destructive techniques around. As I approached, as I flashes of lightning flaring from a small rock formation. It made a high pitched noise, which frankly, was incredibly annoying. Had she really mastered the Chidori already? The Mangekyō too? I completely missed Kazuya standing near another rock, watching his sister's progress. I hopped on top of a large stone and watched her.

Her left hand was engulfed in lightning, and she pierced through the rocks one by one. My eyes were glued to her little dance. She moved so smoothly and gracefully, like a cat. Suddenly, the lightning faded away, and she fell to her knees, panting and sweat dripping from her forehead. She seemed exhausted. Now I noticed that her Chidori had only been half-completed. The rocks hadn't been pierced entirely, the last one was almost completely unscathed. She looked up at me, scowling.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she huffed. I jumped down.

"Heard a few rumors." I took a few steps closer to her and stared into her eyes. She had two tomoe in her Sharingan, one more than the last time I saw it, but it still meant she couldn't have possibly upgraded to the Mangekyō.

"Right. Whatever." She got up, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. I saw sweaty spots under her armpits too. She'd probably been training her ass off. The young Uchiha turned her back on me and walked away.

"How long have you been going at it?" I then asked, as I followed her. She glanced back at me once, her eyes returning to their black color.

"Two weeks."

"Two weeks, trying to master the Chidori? All alone?" I repeated, shocked. She gave me an irritated look and I remembered what she'd said just yesterday.

"_If you're not born a naturally gifted Uchiha, no one is there to help you," _I noticed Kazuya now, standing near a rock. Even he hadn't helped her? Kazuya had seemed like the nicest out of the entire family. I hadn't expected that from him.

"I'm done," she told him "let's go home."

"Do you have to make me play guard?" Kazuya asked with a sigh.

"Who else is going to keep my fanboys away?" she responded dryly. "If you're not gonna even give me a hint, that's the least you could do." Kazuya didn't respond but instead looked at me.

"Katsuro. You've gotten even faster." he complimented me. I blinked once, unsure how to reply to that. Even if he was the nicest, he wasn't one to give compliments often either.

"Uhm, thanks." I muttered.

"Shouldn't you be training?" Yukari then asked, turning around to face me. I frowned.

"I'm nearly done with my training, so I can afford to take a break!"

"Really? Mind showing me what you have accomplished up until now?" she asked, and the skeptical look on her face told me she expected a giant failure. I pulled the ball out of my jacket. But how was I supposed to do this? It had absolutely failed the other times I'd tried it. However, being the center of Yukari's attention not only made me nervous, but made me that much more determined to succeed. I had to do this. I couldn't fail in front of her!

I took a breath, and put all my concentration on the ball. _'Rotate. Rotate, come on!' _Yukari was staring intently, Sharingan re-activated, probably watching my chakra flow. I felt the water slowly move in circles. _'Yes! Come on!' _But through my excitement, I felt the grasp on my chakra slowly slip. _'No, no, no, come on, dammit!' _

Suddenly, the youngest Uchiha placed her hand underneath mine. I gasped when I felt the cool flow of her chakra pulsating through my hand, into the ball. The chakra itself felt like water. It was different than mine, which was wild and fiery. Hers was as smooth as her movements. I could feel her chakra steer mine, and before I knew it, the bubble had burst. She did that thing where it felt like her eyes pierced right through me as she let go of my hand.

"Remember what I did and maybe you won't fail next time." she simply stated, before she and her older brother left. I was rather dumbstruck.

'_Did she just _help_ me?'_

* * *

><p>"Mom, seriously, calm down," I sighed as my mother raged at a doctor in the hospital, who'd apparently mixed up two patients. One of them had nearly gotten his liver cut out, had my mom not spotted the mistake at the last minute.<p>

"I will _not! _Do you realize what the consequence could've been?" she continued to rant at the terrified man in the white doctor's coat. Natsumi, who was standing next to me, just rolled her eyes and left the room, tending to the next patient. She really hated it when mom started lecturing other people. I decided to leave as well eventually, when I spotted Mari Uzumaki sitting in the waiting room. I walked over to her, curious as to what she was doing here.

"Hey, Mari-san." I greeted her. She did seem rather pale and anxious, but otherwise fine. Also fidgety. She glanced up to me and smiled quickly at me.

"Hi, Hiroki-kun."

"What are you doing here? Are you sick?" I asked with a frown. The entire Uzumaki family seemed immune to getting sick. Katsuro came here quite often though that was mostly because of injuries. Mari, on the other hand, had never gone to the hospital before.

"Uhm, ah, well, my mom forced me. She obviously thinks I'm sick. But I'm pretty sure what it is." I studied her face closely.

"You seem more like you're nervous than sick. So, what's up?" I asked, sitting on the empty chair next to her.

"W-well, you see, I think someone… sort of, actually, and, uhm, you know…."

"Mari-san, you're not making any sense." I cut her off politely. She laughed uneasily, scratching the back of her head.

"Right, sorry! It's just that, someone… someone I know… _likes me." _I wouldn't have heard the last part if I hadn't leaned in.

"So?" I replied indifferently.

"_So_?" Mari repeated startled. "So, I have no clue what to do! I mean, should I go talk to him? Should I just ignore it? Should I confess?"

"Oh, so you like him too?"

"Well, uh, a-ah, you see, that's uhm…." She turned completely red and I chuckled. She seemed like a helpless little kid, and that wasn't something you saw often.

"It's cool. How do you know he likes you?" I inquired.

"Someone else told me." I stared at her for a few seconds, then sighed deeply. She couldn't be serious.

"Mari-san, you can't trust everything anyone says, you need to go ask him personally."

"Personally?" she almost shrieked, shooting up from her chair.

"Uhm, Mari?" Akira frowned at her, as she'd nearly elbowed him in his ribs. Right, he'd came here because of a foot injury he'd gotten during his training. Seemed like Natsumi was done treating him. Mari slowly turned around, and turned completely red again, then fainted. I had an '_AHA!' _moment. It made sense. Those two got along great and mostly hung out together as well. Akira quickly caught her before she hit the ground and lifted her up.

"She'll be fine," I tried to tell him, but he just ignored me.

"Mari! Mari! Hey, wake up! Ugh, great." He turned around and walked away, carrying her into an empty room. "Making me carry you, really? What a drag…." I frowned.

'_That was rude. He could've said hello at the very least.' _

"Hiroki-kun!" I heard a familiar voice call out, and spotted Shizuka Umino, Iruka-sensei's kid, with an impatient look on her face and holding her hand. It was bruised and covered in small cuts. I walked over to her, though she seemed in a bad mood.

"You should really be careful, you're coming here way too often." I muttered as I grabbed her hand and studied it. It wasn't too bad. Some bandage would take care for the most of it. Shizuka's dark green eyes stared at me intently, waiting for me to bandage her up. She seemed in a hurry.

"Well, whatever. I mean, that stupid Uchiha should just mind his own business, but yeah, he had to be a smartass and challenge me!"

"Ryuuji again?"

"He thinks he's _so _much better than me, just because he's older! Smug prick!" she ranted, obviously pissed, her spiky, short, brown hair nearly shaking from her anger if that was almost possible. I endured her ranting as I bandaged her up and wondered when she would be honest with herself and just ask him out on a date. I didn't say it out loud, of course, it would probably just earn me a punch in the face.

* * *

><p>"Sensei! Sensei, I got it!" I yelled at Konohamaru, who instantly woke up. It was almost evening, and I was getting hungry, so I'd mastered the rotation just in time.<p>

"H-huh? Oh, good, good. Keep practicing." he said with a yawn as he got up and stretched. "I'll teach you the second step next time."

"What? I'm ready to go now! Come on, I'm on fire! Teach me anything, I'll get the hang of it in a minute!" He smacked me upside the head.

"Not so cocky. You have to rest. Tomorrow is your first big mission, ey." I pouted.

"I guess you're right. So, when will be the next time?"

"Day after tomorrow. Same place, same time."

"Alright! Bye, Konohamaru-sensei!"

"Yes, yes, bye, kid. Tell your dad I said hi! He should be home by now!" I nodded and made my way back home.

Needless to say I felt exhilarated. It would only be a matter of time before I learned it! It was easier than I'd expected it to be. I did realize that I learned the rotation in time mostly because of – ugh – Yukari. I would've figured it out myself _eventually. _It's not like she helped me overcome a huge obstacle or anything. Nope, I could've done it myself if I'd really wanted to. I'd just felt like wasting time, walking on my hands. Yeah, that was it. I liked walking on my hands! She had nothing to do with it!

I stared at my hand and could still feel a little of her chakra left. It fascinated me how it had almost tamed my own chakra and directed it to the right place. It had felt oddly _pleasant._ I shook my head and sighed as I approached my house. Weird thoughts.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" My dad's voice roared through the residence. I was immediately alarmed and ran into the house, to the living room. My mother just came out of it, carrying an upset Akio in her arms. She looked at me with an anxious look on her face and I walked past her, into the living room. I saw several ANBU members going through papers that were my dad's, basically raiding _our_ _house_.

This couldn't possibly end well.

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><p><strong>That was that. I'm not doing a bio on the minor characters you saw here because their roll is going to be really small. I might do it at the very end, if you want me to.<strong>

**Anyway, reviews make write longer chapters and update faster! I swear. It's the same with most authors. It gives me motivation!**

**SO REVIEW! :D**


	5. Taking a walk

**MERRY FREAKING CHRISTMAS GUYS! :3**

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><p>I was taking a long walk around town, having made sure Ryuuji wasn't going around looking for a fight and Yukari safely home with father. I just needed a break from everything. From the missions, the ANBU trying to convince me to join, from all the huge expectations people had of me, the people looking at me for guidance or just admiring me, and most of all, the council who was still (after all these years) suspicious of our entire family. If they had their way me and my siblings would just be castrated. Everyone who knew about us in the village had an opinion about us. They either hated us, or admired us. The people in between were simply ignorant of our history.<p>

The village was oddly quiet. It felt like everyone was asleep. The street lights illuminated the rocky path in front of me, going through an otherwise busy street. Tonight, it was almost devoid of the usual drunks, party goers and little groups of teenagers hanging around. There was only one drunk man sitting next to a trash can, and from the smell I could tell he'd puked in it not too long ago. Across the street a few people, probably no older than sixteen, were laughing and loudly chatting with each other, but soon began to leave. It was almost midnight.

I realized I was walking towards the Konoha Hospital, and decided to make a left turn, instead nearing the Uzumaki residence. There was a wide field filled with flower behind their house which was usually abandoned, so I enjoyed going there to relax. Today, however, the large house itself caught my attention. I heard furious yelling, and recognized the Hokage's voice. I was alarmed, and instantly ran to the residence, activating my Sharingan.

"I don't care if the council threatened to fire you, you do NOT go through my belongings without permission!" That was definitely a very angry Hokage.

'_So the council ordered some people to search the Hokage's house. Are they really that suspicious? What do they think they'll find?' _I thought by myself as I opened the door without knocking and walked in. I saw Mari, who was anxiously peeking in the living room, and her younger brother Katsuro, who seemed clueless as to what to do. The Hokage himself, faced with a few ANBU members, was in a tough position. If he fought them or kicked him out of his house, that would make him look guilty of whatever it was that the council suspected him of. But just watching as his supposed subordinates violated his privacy was anything but what he deserved. He was a savior, after all. He'd ended a war that could've potentially killed millions and could've made everyone into slaves.

'_Well, as a third party, it should be safe enough for me to interfere.' _I decided coolly as I walked in the living room and stared coldly at the ANBU shinobi, my Sharingan still activated. I noticed Mari and Katsuro seemed startled by my sudden appearance from the corner of my eyes, and the Hokage simply glanced at me.

"What do you think you're doing?" I spoke with a clear voice. They looked at each other, as if they were unsure about their next action. One of them, with a white and red cat-mask, was brave enough to answer me.

"We have orders from the council to search for any suspicious material or information that might compromise the safety of our village." I folded my arms skeptically.

"So I suppose you don't have a mind of your own?"

"That's not-"

"-You just blindly follow every order from the council. This man saved the entire _world._ What possible motive could he have to put Konoha in danger?" I argued, annoyed with how brainless they were. One of the reasons I refused to join the ANBU was that you had to follow every single command, no matter how wrong you thought it was. You just had to put all your trust in your superior, only then you would be a good little soldier. And I was evidently _not_ a good little soldier.

Ryuuji, believe it or not, was a lot more obedient than I. Ryuuji often mouthed off to others, however those others were always of a lower rank. He would never utter a word of protest to his superiors.

"Our personal feelings don't matter. We only do as we're told." The cat-masked man said, stubbornly.

"This isn't really about the Hokage, is it?" I decided to take another tactic. Changing the subject seemed like a good plan, since obviously they were too stubborn to leave at the moment."Your council just doesn't want my family here any longer. It's prejudice and hate, that's what it is." I glared at them as I played my role of being the victim quite well, if I must say so myself.

"That's… we don't know why the council-"

"-Please! All you've ever done is treat me and my family with contempt. What have we ever done to deserve such scorn?" I interrupted him, and he finally seemed at a loss for words. I'd successfully managed to change the subject, now to get these people out of the house.

"We didn't mean to offend you, I swear, most people admire how talented you are!" another man with a bear-mask tried to apologize.

"If that's true, then why are you trying to dig up dirt on the Hokage? Because he's a close friend to my clan! You can't be_ that_ blind to the connection. The council has always treated my father unfairly, and now they're trying to get rid of the Hokage, the very person who saved all of you! You should be ashamed, violating the privacy of such a hero, a living_ legend_!" The three men stared at each other, rather dumfounded.

"We… we're sorry?"

"Now I suggest you leave. You have offended me, my clan, and the Hokage more than enough."

"R-right. Of course. Let's go, I doubt we'll find anything here anyway." They left without another word, and I turned to the Hokage, who was now grinning from ear to ear.

"You have a way with words, don't you?" without waiting for a response, he patted me on the back. "Thanks, you saved me a lot of trouble." He sighed wearily, and suddenly he looked a lot older than he was. I knew how tiring it was dealing with such an unscrupulous council. Father often came home with a worn out expression. After the Allied Shinobi War, the original council members retired and got replaced by an all new council. Mainly jounin ranked shinobi who knew a lot about politics and were eager to control Konoha. Unfortunately, most of these new council members didn't much appreciate my clan at all.

"It was only my duty. The Hokage shouldn't be dealing with such nonsense in the first place. I don't know what the council is thinking these days," I muttered with a sigh.

"You and me both."

"I should get going, now. I'm sure father will want to hear of this." I then decided, noticing it was getting a little _too_ late. The Hokage nodded.

"Tell him to be careful, I wouldn't be surprised if some other council pawns knocked on your door next. Also tell him that he still owes me a drink!" He smirked again, and I nodded sternly, bowing shortly before I left the residence. I merely glanced at the two siblings who'd been staring at me for a while, but apparently Katsuro's interest had been piqued. He ran after me.

"Hey! Hey, Kazuya!" he yelled. Any other person would get annoyed by his blunt disregard of honorifics, but I knew you couldn't expect anything more from a boy like Katsuro. I'd known him since the day he got born, after all. Our two families were very close. I stopped on the middle of the road and turned to face him.

"Yes?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you something, ehm… about your family's history, actually. I mean, if you don't mind." he stated, and for a second I was a little surprised. Though it wasn't entirely unexpected. I'd actually been wondering when he would finally get curious, considering Yukari was one to boast about how great our clan was.

"Go ahead."

"So, uh, what exactly happened to make the council distrust your family like this?" he asked curiously.

"There are a number of reasons, I suppose. Firstly, I think you already know that my father used to be a missing-nin and initially out to destroy Konoha during the War. But then the War ended, and the Hokage managed to get him back. Of course, the village didn't accept him initially, despite your father's pleas. It was only after your father had assumed the position of Hokage that he managed to convince the council from then to pardon my father." Katsuro had listened attentively the entire time, but seemed to get impatient.

"Alright, but that still doesn't explain…." I raised my hand so he would stop talking.

"I'm getting there. In any case, it wasn't long before the then council members mostly retired. The war had worn them out and they were getting too old. They got replaced by new council members, who… let's say they didn't agree with the decision to pardon my father, but they couldn't reverse it. So they decided to look for a reason to exile him again, or worse, call for an execution.

My father's arrogant attitude back then didn't help much either. Your father was one of the few people willing to back him up."

"I see." Katsuro mumbled tentatively. He frowned for a second. "But then why did your dad want to destroy Konoha in the first place?" I very slightly narrowed my eyes.

"I'm afraid that tale is not meant for your ears. At least, not now. If you'll excuse me," I ended the conversation politely, turning my back on the young genin and walked away. He didn't call after me, probably having realized it was a touchy subject.

But there was no doubt in my mind that, now his interest had been piqued, he would try his very best to find out.

* * *

><p>When Kazuya finally got home, it was an hour past midnight. I had been lying in my bed on the second floor, but I could distinctly hear the sound of a door being opened, and the soft sound of voices talking coming from downstairs. I hadn't been able to sleep that night, because I was a little nervous for my first mission tomorrow. I'd been wondering what kind of mission it would be, and what would happen if we somehow screwed it up. Deciding that trying to fall asleep was a lost cause, I got out of my bed and slowly walked out of my room. When I neared the stairs, I could now hear the voices clearly. It was Kazuya and father talking.<p>

"It was to be expected." Father sounded annoyed and tired, like it so often did. "I'm certain _that idiot_ will make a big deal out of this in tomorrow's meeting." With "_that idiot" _he actually meant the Hokage.

"They are getting bolder. It is... disconcerting." Kazuya responded in his much gentler voice. A sigh, but I couldn't identify whose it was.

"We need to find a solution to this problem before they decided to pay us a visit."

"Are you worried?"

"Worried that I might just kill them all if they set foot in my house? Yes."

"I believe you to be above that, father."

"Then you think too highly of me, Kazuya." There was a moment silence. "Tell your sister to go to sleep, and get some rest yourself. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

"Very well." I scowled as Kazuya came walking up the stairs, not even looking at me. "You heard father." he simply stated as he walked past me to his own room. I pouted, having no intention to actually return back into my room.

"Yukari!" Father's voice startled me, and I looked down. He was standing in front of the stairs below, staring up at me with a stern look. I tried to look innocent, though I didn't have much success. "Why won't you go to sleep? I thought I made myself clear."

"Sorry. I was just curious." I muttered semi-apologetically, trying not to roll my eyes. He sighed deeply.

"Once you get old enough I'll be able to discuss certain things with you as well. For now, try not to concern yourself with adult business."

"Alright, I'll… try. Goodnight, father." I answered, not wanting to bother him more than I already had. From his appearance I could tell he was in no shape to deal with my mischief.

"Goodnight." He kept staring at me until I retreated to my room, probably to make sure I wouldn't sneak around the house again. I knew the moment I looked at my bed that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. Despite that, I lied down and pulled the covers up to my chin.

'_Maybe if I count to hundred I'll fall asleep,' _I thought to myself. But even when I reached a thousand, I still couldn't sleep. I couldn't figure out what was bothering me, until I thought back to the conversation I'd had with Kazuya just a few days ago. I knew that the council had always treated my clan with disdain, but it seemed both my brother and my father were intent to keep everything of my family's history a secret. It was infuriating. As an Uchiha, I thought I had the damn right to know what had happened to my clan!

I sat up, suddenly feeling rather angry, and glared at my blanket. What had we done to deserve being treated like criminals by that stupid council?

I heard three light taps on the glass door of my balcony, and instantly shot up. I was slack jawed.

'_The hell?' _I walked over to the door and opened it.

"Hiroki? What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night!" I whispered, completely flabbergasted at his sudden appearance. He smirked clumsily.

"I couldn't get any sleep. I'd figured you wouldn't to, so… eh… well, hi. Oh, uhm," He stared down at my clothes, and I realized I was still in my short nightgown. I ignored him.

"Didn't your mom notice you leaving?"

"She was asleep. Your dad's asleep as well, as far as I can tell from his chakra. Which is a good thing, since if he saw me here he'd eat me alive." I chuckled.

"You make him sound like he's a giant monster." Hiroki shifted uneasily.

"Well, he kinda is…." I rolled my eyes.

"Give me a minute to change. We'll take a walk." I decided, since I wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon anyway. He nodded, and I closed the door as he shifted behind the wall. I trusted him enough not to peek as I quickly changed into my regular clothes. I, careful not to make a sound, opened the door again and walked out on the balcony. There was a wall a few feet away, but we could easily jump over it and land on the other side, and so we did. It was a very nice walk, and made me feel very relaxed. We stayed in the large area around my house, though. Hiroki was probably one of the very few people where I could feel completely comfortable.

"So, what do you think our mission will be?" Hiroki asked me, his hands nonchalantly occupying his wide pockets.

"I was hoping something… well, dangerous, where I could prove my worth, but I'll bet it'll be something as simple as finding a missing kid." I muttered as I stared up at the cloudy night sky. Every now and then the moon would shine through, but then get covered up again. It annoyed me.

"You _always_ want to prove your worth. I'm pretty sure everyone already knows you're really talented, Yukari-chan." Hiroki criticized. He did think I was overdoing it sometimes. I merely shrugged.

"What can I say? I was born an overachiever."

"When will you finally relax?"

"The day you finally get a new haircut." I teased, grabbing a rusty-colored lock of hair. It was just a little over his shoulders. It didn't make him look girly, but he'd had the same hairstyle for years and it was getting old. Hiroki snorted.

"Never!" he exclaimed, gently brushing my hand off. We were both getting sleepy, I noticed. But I was too amused to go back to my room and sleep already.

"Come on, it's long enough to braid! Hmm," I smirked, and Hiroki caught on.

"_No_!" he tried to get away from my hands which were reaching for his hair. In the struggle we tripped and fell on the ground next to each other. We didn't move, though. Instead we stared up at the sky. It had cleared a little, so we could see a few stars. My eyes were heavy, and I slowly turned my head to Hiroki, who'd been staring at me. As if he were a kid caught stealing candy, he blushed and broke eye contact. Of course I'd already realized that he liked me, a lot. I simply chose not to respond to it yet, as I wasn't certain how I felt.

"Hey, maybe we should go back." I mumbled, nudging his shoulder so he looked at me again.

"Can we… just stay a little longer?" Hiroki asked in a soft voice.

"Alright, just a few more minutes."

Before we knew it, we'd both fallen asleep.

* * *

><p>When I woke up, the first thing that greeted me was a glare from Ryuuji.<p>

'O_h… this can't be good.' _I sat up straight, realizing I'd fallen asleep in the field and saw Hiroki standing a few feet away from me with a guilty look on his face, next to my-

"Father!" I blinked, looking up at the man as he had his arms folded and a less than amused look on his face. More like, a piercing stare. This was bad.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Ryuuji snapped at me, but I was focused on my father and didn't respond. First, he sighed. Then, he put his hand to his forehead, closing his eyes in frustration. Finally, he looked back at me.

"After you've completed your mission," he began, and I could already feel it coming "you're grounded for a week."

'_Goddammit!'_

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><p><strong>Reviewz, pretty please? :3<strong>


	6. Pink ribbon

Of course he'd make a scene. Of course he'd start pointing and yelling. Of course, because he was Naruto and that's simply the way he did things. Unfortunately, his way of doing things wasn't really fit for politics. One did not simply yell "Asshole!" the moment a council member denied an accusation. Granted, his accusation (surprisingly) made a lot of sense, however, it was still just an accusation. I rubbed my temples as I listened to the conversation. For once, the council members didn't attack me. The oldest one, Daiki Sakamoto, was around his fifties, and the most hateful of them all. There was nothing left of the original council, which had had only two people, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. There were now six of them. Four of them hated my guts. The other two were objective, and one of those two was luckily the council's leader, but that didn't mean they gave me a free pass. It just meant that those other four idiots didn't get to execute me.

"This is prejudice and disrespect! You can't just order a search through of my house without informing me!"

"The council wanted clarification after certain rumors came about! We knew you would never agree, so we sent a few ANBU when we thought you weren't home, but unfortunately, you were. The council decided it, four against two." Sakamoto, with his already completely grey, short beard and grey hair which combed back, was known to be rather harsh. He had an small glasses and usually a bitter expression on his face.

"So just because you did it behind my back it's okay? Is that supposed to make me feel better or something, old man?" Naruto snapped, clearly annoyed.

"Please calm down, Hokage-sama, we do not want-"

"-I'm not calming down until you tell me what all of this is about!" They argued in circles, the council mostly unwilling to admit the underlying problem and Naruto unwilling to back off. I was sitting right next to him on the long, ebony table. The council members were sitting on the other side of the table, facing us. I listened to their trivial arguing and decided my patience was up.

"All of this," I interrupted with a loud voice "is about me and my family, is it not? It seems like there are no other matters the council will look into these days." There was a brief silence before another round of arguing began. Sakamoto narrowed his eyes, glaring at me fiercely. I merely shot him a glance.

"You want to hear the truth? The truth is you have done _nothing_ to earn our trust!" he finally told me, while two other members nodded at his statement.

"That's ridiculous! The original council already pardoned him!" Naruto protested.

"To be clear, not he nor his family have broken any rules. In fact, I'd say they have been upstanding citizens." another council member argued in my defense, a young, slender woman with ginger hair and green eyes named Asami Gotō. She was the leader of the council, because of her very high intellect. The ugly scar that ran from her left cheek to her nose was her most outstanding feature.

"No, it simply means that they have not been caught!" Sakamoto spat at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"What kind of rules do you think they're breaking if we haven't noticed it yet? We already do regular check-ups, and so far there haven't been any-"

"-Please, they're just good at hiding it! They're _Uchiha_, after all." Now was my turn to glare back. Who did this old man think he was? I suspected he had some personal grudge against my clan, but I wasn't about to sink as low as to attack him like that.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Naruto reacted immediately. "You have no evidence on them, and because I actually support them you think I'm unfit to be the Hokage!" One of Sakamoto's allies in the council snorted.

"You have to admit that your judgment may be clouded, considering your relationship with them."

"Are you saying I'm biased?"

"That's exactly what we're saying!" Sakamoto snarled, defending his friend. More arguing. Always more."You and those-"

"-Enough!" Asami-san shot up from her seat, slamming her hand on the table. "I will not have you embarrass the council by going on your own little tirade, Sakamoto!" she snapped at him fiercely. Said man stared at her callously, but instead of arguing, said:

"My apologies. It seems I have let myself go." he said to her, though it was obviously not sincere. He probably decided that he'd argued enough for that day.

"You apologize every time, Sakamoto-san, but it seems you never learn." Sakamoto glared at the man who'd spoken to him. It was obvious that the council was split in two. The only reason why they hadn't gotten rid of me yet was because the council leader mostly defended me, and her voice weighed more than the regular council members. She could veto any proposals regarding an execution or an exile, but not the ones regarding house searches or arrests. Naruto, however, could. But neither of us had expected the council to act on its own without informing him. It was concerning, to say the least.

'_The council is becoming too independent._' I thought to myself, frowning in annoyance. If they were left unchecked, the future looked rather bleak. I'd considered the option of killing two of them to even it out, and I certainly would've in the past, but I had a family to think about now. I refused to leave them behind, mostly for emotional reasons.

"We have discussed enough for today. I suggest a break before we move on to more pressing matters." Asami decided, obviously tired of the discussion. I stood up and walked out, ignoring the glare Sakamoto was giving me. If he wasn't man enough to tell me what his problem was with my clan, then he was not worthy of my attention. I heard footsteps right behind me, probably Naruto's.

"That was tiring," I heard him sigh behind me.

"If you hadn't screamed the entire time you would've been fine." I commented dully. Naruto started walking next to me, almost stupefied.

"I was arguing in there for your sake!" he sputtered, but I merely rolled my eyes.

"You should have realized by now that no matter what you say, they'll stick to their position. Nothing will change." He sighed.

"You're such a pessimist."

* * *

><p>"I'm not doing that!" Uchiha was glaring at Minoru-sensei, because of the ridiculous mission we had gotten. It was, of course, a D-rank mission. Locate a missing cat. Uchiha was, for once, the one who was loud and whined. She was probably upset that she didn't get to show the new skills she'd learned and how much she'd improved. I myself was pretty ticked off as well, but the best option was to get the mission over with as fast as possible, and then maybe my dad would give us a better one. Besides, I wanted to practice that stupid rotation technique some more.<p>

"You don't have much of a choice." Minoru-sensei replied, lazily lying on the grass on top of the wide hill covered with flowers. Now I thought about it, this field didn't really have a name, did it?

'_Perhaps I should call it... Blue Lily Hill?'_

"What do you mean with that? Of course I do! You can't force me to run after some stupid cat!"

'_Nah, that's too cliché. Maybe just… Hill of the Lilies?'_

"Actually, I can. If you don't participate in this mission, you'll be kicked out the group and sent back to the Academy."

'_I suppose that would do, unless it already has a name and I just wasted my time coming up with one."_

"Fine!" Uchiha's sudden, loud snarl woke me up from my thoughts. Hiroki was sitting next to Minoru-sensei, plucking some grass, bored. "Fine, we'll go get that stupid cat. What does he look like and where was he last seen?" Minoru-sensei yawned before he answered that question.

"Hmm… well, I think it was a black and white adult cat with a pink ribbon tied around his neck. Last known location was near Ichiraku Ramen." I perked up when I heard the name of the shop.

"Ramen?" I looked at Uchiha who was giving me a stern glare. "Ne, Yukari-san, can we please get some ramen there? Please? Pretty please?" I begged, and she rolled her eyes, responding sardonically.

"Since when are we on a first name basis, Uzumaki?" I was pouting to the best of my ability. I hadn't really gotten an opportunity to visit Ichiraku in a few days now, which was way too long. I'd been busy with the graduation, then the training, the issues at home, and ramen had just totally slipped my mind. Now I was reminded of it, though, my stomach emitted a loud growl and I suddenly felt very, very hungry.

"PLEASE? I need ramen! I can't live or breathe without them!" Hiroki sighed.

"Katsuro, we're going on a mission, there's no time to grab a bite."

"It's not like that cat is in a hurry anyway!" I told him with a scowl, looking back at Uchiha who was thinking about it. Minoru-sensei was listening halfheartedly, but got interested when Uchiha spoke again.

"What do I get in return?" she asked, folding her arms. I blinked.

"Eh?"

"You heard me, Uzumaki. What do I get in return?" she repeated, not blinking once. My scowl deepened. What did I have to offer her?

"Uhm… well… I can't think of anything right now, but, but! If you give me this I'll owe you, like, really owe you, no joke! So… so you can ask whatever, alright? Can we please go eat some ramen now? PLEASE?" Uchiha smiled ominously, which made me worried. That smile didn't promise much good. I nearly wanted to call it off, but the power of ramen was just too strong.

"Do I have your word on that?"

"Yes, yes! Can we go now?"

"You won't go back on it?" I felt insulted.

"I'll have you know that I'm an Uzumaki! We don't go back on our promises!" I scoffed, glaring at her. She frowned at me.

"Are you implying Uchiha do?" This was just too easy.

"So what if I am?" She grabbed me by the collar of my jacket, clearly angry.

"Now listen you-" Minoru-sensei got up and broke us up before another fist fight could ensue.

"Calm down, kids! Do you need another lesson in teamwork?" Both of us were silent, and he smirked. "Good! Now let's go to Ichiraku and start looking for the cat from there."

* * *

><p>"Sweet, delicious, finger-linking, heavenly, awesome, magnificent ramen. How I've missed you! Itadakimasu¹!" I watched him dig in and eat as if he hadn't eaten anything in weeks. I wasn't hungry so I hadn't ordered anything, and just watched Katsuro stuff everything in his mouth and go through four bowls of ramen in a matter of minutes. I was leaning my head on my right hand, my elbow on the table as I stared at him order yet another bowl. He was sitting on my left side, Yukari and Minoru-sensei were sitting on my right side and also had seemed to order some food.<p>

"What's so special about ramen?" I asked Katsuro, who stopped eating (a miracle!) for a few seconds to stare at me in shock and respond.

"What's _not _special about ramen?" He started eating again but I kept talking.

"Well, it's just food. It may taste good, but it doesn't do anything else." Now he put his chopsticks down, furrowing his brows.

"It doesn't need to do anything else! It's deliciously sweet ramen! What more do you want?" I shrugged.

"If I look at the way you're eating all of it, I'd expect it to have some sort of power or something. But it's nothing special. I don't get how you're not sick of it yet." Katsuro gasped, as if I'd accused him of murder.

"BLASPHEMER!" he yelled, pointing at me. I blinked, confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"Ramen are a god-send! They're the best thing ever!"

"Just give it up, Hiroki. He's an idiot." Yukari muttered next to me, and I chuckled. Katsuro fiercely glared at her but didn't say a thing and finished his fifth bowl. He sighed contently, stretching as if he'd just woken up from his beauty sleep and put some kumi on the table to pay for it. The others had already finished and we'd just been waiting for him. Yukari couldn't help but ask how Katsuro hadn't gotten fat yet from being such a pig, and there was another heated discussion that almost led to a fist-fight (for the second time that day, I might add). Luckily Minoru-sensei was there again to stop them, but I could tell from his expression he was getting rather sick of it. As was I.

"Listen you two," he started in a threatening tone, shaking his finger at them "if you don't stop acting like children and start acting like ninja I'll kick you out of the team! Understand?" They both had a glaring contest before they grudgingly agreed. Now, to find the cat.

First we asked the owner of Ichiraku if she'd seen the cat, and she nodded, stating it had been just a day ago. Yukari then turned to our sensei.

"How long has the cat been missing?" she asked.

"For about five days." She thought about it for a second, and was about to state something when Katsuro interrupted and did it for her.

"That means we'll have to search near places where there's food! It will most likely be scavenging." Yukari rubbed her temples but didn't say anything. I could see she was holding back an insult, and laughed softly to myself.

"Alright, let's split up. Hiroki, you come with me. Katsuro and Yukari, you two are together. Teamwork!" he emphasized sternly, before grinning widely again. "Good luck." He gestured me to follow him, and I gave Yukari an encouraging smile before I did. I hoped she would be wise enough not to argue with Katsuro any longer, I really didn't want her to get kicked out of the team because of it. It would mean I'd see her a lot less too….

* * *

><p>"No, the restaurant is THAT way!" I insisted, pointing towards the west. He'd gotten the brilliant idea to look near restaurants and shady spots, since it was most likely a cat would hang around those places. But of course he didn't even know where the restaurants were, the only place he went to for food was Ichiraku.<p>

"It's not! I'm sure it's the opposite direction!" Uzumaki scratched the back of his head for a second, looking a little confused.

"See? You don't even know with a certainty!" I pointed out, my hands on my hips. "Let's just go that way, and if I'm wrong you can brag about it and we'll go your way. Like you said, it's not like that cat is in a hurry." Uzumaki thought about it for a while and finally agreed.

"Alright, lead the way then. I'll think about things to say when you're proven wrong." he huffed. I made my way through the streets, looking around. It had been a while since I'd seen it. It was a nice restaurant with mostly sea food, and rather pricey, but worth it. Knowing cats, our target could be chewing on a fish at this very moment. I glanced sideways to Uzumaki, who was surprisingly silent for once. It made me a little uncomfortable. I wondered where Hiroki and Minoru were. They hadn't contacted us on the radio yet, which meant they hadn't found that stupid cat.

"We're close." I muttered, staying alert in case I saw the feline.

"What was that?" Uzumaki suddenly said, staring intently at a dark alleyway. I walked towards it first, and I looked through the alley. I could just barely see a tail sticking out from behind a trash can.

"I found it, contact Hiroki and Minoru-sensei," I told him, throwing him the small radio device. He caught it but seemed to disagree.

"I'm faster than you, it's best if I-"

"-Faster than me?" I snorted. "I doubt that, Uzumaki. Just contact them already."

"Hey, you're not the boss of me, alright? And I _am_ faster than you, no joke!" Stupid, stupid catchphrase!

"There's no time to argue, just- crap! It's getting away!" I finally noticed, and started running after the cat who'd been startled by our loud arguing. I ran as fast as I could, easily jumping over obstacles, but to my big surprise, Uzumaki almost effortlessly caught up with me. I tried running even faster, but he passed me, throwing me the radio. I huffed, frustrated, and contacted our sensei.

While I told them the situation, we tried to avoid as many people as we could while we were chasing after that retarded cat. Uzumaki was ahead of me, right behind the cat, having almost caught it. I knew there was an alley straight ahead, and so did sensei so it was obvious what to do.

The cat ran into the alleyway, but its path was blocked by Hiroki and Minoru-sensei. It had nowhere to go. I decided to go in for the kill while Uzumaki guarded the other entrance. I slowly walked towards it, closely following its movements. Suddenly it made a feint and I fell for it. It slipped away and ran towards Uzumaki now. That cat was incredibly fast!

"Got it!" He caught the cat neatly by its ribbon in less than a second. Even I had to admit that his reflexes and speed were impressive. It struggled but he was careful not to let it get too close to him. Minoru sensei nodded approvingly.

"Alright, let's bring it to the owner!"

* * *

><p>Oh, great. It had to be <em>this<em> guy. Sakamoto, the council member who seemed to hate me and my family. Of course Uzumaki had handed me the cat now, since he got tired of carrying it. Moreover, the Hokage was there and my father as well. The cat, however, seemed to like me a lot more than Uzumaki.

"I see you've finished your mission successfully." Naruto noted with a smirk.

"Of course! Piece of cake!" his son responded proudly. I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything. Sakamoto seemed rather disappointed that we hadn't failed. I walked over to Sakamoto, who gave me a stern look.

"Here's your cat." I said coolly.

"His ribbon is damaged." This man truly loved to complain.

"Not my problem." I huffed, putting the cat on the table. The Hokage chuckled, and I tried my best not to glance over to my dad since that would just make me nervous.

"And he's filthy!" My annoyance meter was filled up.

"Maybe if you hadn't carelessly let him get away then he wouldn't have been this filthy." This seemed to tick him off even more.

"Watch your tone with me, brat!"

"_What_," I flinched from the sudden harsh tone coming from my father "did you just call my daughter?" I looked at him, and felt almost afraid. I hadn't realized he could glare that murderously at someone.

"Eh, Sasuke, calm down-"

"-I am calm." He interrupted Naruto.

"She is a little brat! That's what I said and I stand by it!" I wasn't really sure how to respond to that, considering my father looked like he wanted to strangle the man. But my eventual defense came from an unexpected person.

"Oh yeah? If she's a little brat then you're just an old fart!" Katsuro Uzumaki. Why? I don't know. Sakamoto looked like he'd been struck by lightning though, and my father was a little surprised. Naruto, however, roared with laughter, slapping his knee.

"Well, that was awkward." I heard Minoru-sensei mutter behind be, and was inclined to agree.

We were dismissed, after the Hokage told us we'd get another mission in a few days. I glanced at my father for a second, and he looked back, but I couldn't read anything from his face. Me and the team walked outside the office, and I decided to ask Uzumaki why he'd stood up for me. He shrugged.

"We're teammates now, right? So we have to support each other!" he said with a smile. I wasn't sure how to respond to that. Somewhere it was nice to know that someone had your back, but hearing that from Uzumaki, my rival, was weird.

"I'm so proud of you guys! I'm tearing up right now!" Minoru-sensei ruined the moment, of course.

* * *

><p>It was evening. Three men, their faces covered by the black hoods of their long cloaks, were walking in a fast pace towards a large house at the end of the street. The path was illuminated by rusty streetlamps that looked like they needed some repairing done. They walked up to the large door, and one of them knocked on it. Shortly after, it went open and the two men walked in.<p>

Inside, there was another, older man, sitting on his couch, reading a book. He didn't even glance when his friends came in.

"You wanted to speak, Sakamoto-san?" one of them asked, pulling his hood down and revealing the face of a man with a thick, brown moustache and sloppy, dark brown hair.

"Ah, yes." Said man closed his book and gestured them to sit down. The three of them took a seat on the longer, red couch facing Sakamoto. "I think it is time to devise a strategy."

"That much we agree on."

"I hope that we also agree that those… Uchiha are a disease to our village. Always have been, always will be! The sooner they are gone, the better."

"Yes, of course, but how will we accomplish that?" Sakamoto's lips were squeezed into a line, as he stared sternly at the floor before answering.

"Firstly, we need to make sure the other two council members won't get in our way." One of the three men, one who hadn't pulled off his hood, frowned.

"How do you suggest we do that? Bribe them?"

"Tactics like those won't work on them. We need a permanent solution." another hooded man responded. Everyone understood what he was talking about. Sakamoto nodded approvingly, then noticed the man with the moustache scowling.

"Is there a problem, Kimura-san?" he asked. The man, now identified as Kimura, glanced at him.

"Is something like that really necessary?" he spoke. One of the hooded men sighed.

"We can't get rid of the Uchiha if we don't eliminate their support first!"

"I understand, but-"

"Kimura, are you with us or against us?" Sakamoto interrupted him.

"I… with you, of course."

"Good." They continued their strategy talk.

"So then, when do we do it?"

"Now is too soon. It would make us look too suspicious. We need to… let things calm down. During the Chuunin Exams, we'll strike immediately. It's the best time." All the men in the room seemed to agree with that plan.

And so, after a few more minutes of discussing, Sakamoto's guests left the house and disappeared again in the black of the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Done.<strong>

**Reviewz :3**


	7. Creepy pedophiles

**Been a while since I updated, huh? Well, had a gigantic writer's block, but I'm okay now. Er… I mean, I have plenty of inspiration? Yeah, that.**

* * *

><p>"Er, sensei, what the hell am I supposed to do with this?" I asked Konohamaru-sensei, who'd handed me a rubber ball and was staring at me expectantly. I shook it, to find that it was completely empty. He lit a cigarette before starting to explain to me what it was I was supposed to do.<p>

"Well, ya got the rotation part down pretty good, but you also need power to be able to make the Rasengan a good technique, and-"

"-Aaaaaand?"

"And don't interrupt me, brat. I ain't done yet, ey." he snapped, and I pouted, trying to stay patient. I was sitting in the field behind our house, on the grass. It was a sunny day, though there was also a lot of wind. It had been three days since my first mission (the stupid cat mission) and I'd been training all those days, mastering my chakra control. Now Konohamaru-sensei thought I was ready for the next step, apparently. "Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. You need to try and burst the ball." he eventually stated. I gaped at him.

"How?" I asked gawkily.

"Using your chakra, of course."

"Yeah, but _how_?" Konohamaru scratched the back of his head.

"Well, you're supposed to be a genius, you figure it out, ey." he said with a smirk. I furrowed my eyebrows. Yeah, so I'd passed every written test I'd ever made and had never gotten a lower score than 90, but this guy was supposed to be my sensei, right? A little guidance was to be expected.

"I'm not "supposed" to be a genius, I am a genius! And you're the worst sensei ever." He hit me upside the head. "Ow! I was just joking, geez. Fine. I suppose… what were you talking about earlier? Power?" I said, decided to eventually try and come up with the answer myself. Konohamaru nodded, sitting against a tree as he took a drag, and exhaled the smoke. "Power… uhm… well, to make chakra more powerful, you'd need to make it denser. The more density, the more impact it would have. So, I need to get my chakra as dense as possible to break this thing. Okay… that shouldn't be too hard, right?" He chuckled.

"Smart kid. But talking about it and actually _doing_ it are two different things, ey." I scoffed.

"I know that!" I stared at the red, rubber ball that fit right into my palm as I concentrated. Or at least tried to. I didn't have a very long attention span, so I was trying hard not to get too distracted. How the hell did you make your chakra denser, anyway? I frowned frustrated, and resorted to glaring at the ball for over thirty minutes, letting my chakra float around in the ball, not accomplishing anything. No matter how much I tried, it wouldn't burst.

"Kid, you ain't doin' anything."

"Gaah!" I exclaimed. "This stuff is so hard!" I really felt like pulling my freaking hair out. How the hell had dad learned this? Oh, right. Shadow clones. Well, never mind that, I was going to have to do this without shadow clones! It was going to be harder, but I'd have to pull it off somehow. I was nearly squeezing the ball as I tried for the nth time. I could feel the air in it moving around a bit, affected by my chakra, but my chakra wasn't nearly dense enough to let it burst. Dammit.

"Katsuro-kun!" I heard a familiar voice yell my name and glanced over my shoulder. It was Natsumi, and she had a basket with her. I smiled, waving at her.

"Yo, Natsumi-chan! What's up?" I asked, completely forgetting the rubber ball and tossing it (accidentally) on Konohamaru's lap as I stood up and she walked over to me.

"I'm okay, I just came to check on you. Hiroki said you'd been training the whole time… and… I thought you'd like some lunch? I made it for you." Natsumi said with a smile, showing me the sandwiches she'd made which were in the basket.

"Wow, thanks!" I said, not suspecting a thing as I grabbed one and ignored Konohamaru-sensei's glaring at me. It looked pretty good, so I took a bite. It was salty… tasted pretty okay, but then the most sour and disgusting taste overwhelmed my mouth and I spat it all out, gagging, trying to get rid of the awful taste. I scowled, looking at Natsumi, who seemed disappointed.

"Didn't you like it?" she said with a pout. I blinked, knowing how sensitive she was sometimes.

"W-well… uhm… N-Natsumi-chan, you see it was… it was… not really for me, you know? I prefer sweet things."

"Oh, so it was too salty then?"

"Yeah, yeah! That was it, just a little too much salt!" I said, nodding my head fervently.

"Actually, he thinks it was disgusting, ey." Konohamaru remarked offhandedly. I gaped at him, and horrified, looked at Natsumi. She stared at me for a few seconds, perfectly blank, then her expression darkened.

"_Disgusting?" _she whimpered.

"A-ah, I swear, N-N-Natsumi-chan, he's totally… aw, come on, please don't cry!" I sighed when she started crying loudly. She really was the most melodramatic, sensitive girl I knew. I glared daggers at my sensei, who just chuckled, not at all bothered that he'd made a little girl cry. "Really, it wasn't that bad, I'm sure you'll get better eventually!" I uttered, trying everything to just make her stop crying. I couldn't handle girls crying, I always panicked. She stopped sniffling for a moment and stared at me.

"You mean that?" she asked hopefully. I nodded. No way I was stupid enough to screw it all up now.

"Yeah, you have great potential, you know. So, uh, thanks for the sandwiches! But I need to train now so…." Natsumi smiled meekly, wiping her tears away.

"Okay, I guess I'll leave then. Bye, Katsuro-kun!"

I sighed relieved as she left again, then shot a dirty look at Konohamaru.

"…"

"…What? What did I do, ey?"

"…"

"Would ya stop glaring at me, kid? You're creeping me out."

"I hope you're proud of yourself for making a twelve year old girl cry."

"Damn right I'm proud." I facepalmed and he roared with laughter, obviously not taking me seriously. God, this guy was such a prick sometimes. "You just keep on focusing on your rubber ball. It isn't going to explode by itself, ey." I rolled my eyes, catching the ball he threw at me, and lied back down on my back, hoping I could concentrate better like that. I grabbed the ball with both hands and closed my eyes, focusing on my chakra. It was… wild, like an animal, and hard to control but thanks so that stupid Uchiha whose name shall not be named, I'd figured out how to direct it. Now only to make it denser.

I don't know how long I lay there, but it must've been quite a while, because when I opened my eyes for a second I saw the sun had been beginning to set. I sighed and sat up straight. One more time. I concentrated the best I could, pumping as much chakra in the ball and suddenly it broke. My eyes snapped opened in surprise, and I grinned widely.

"HA! See that, old fart? I finally did it, in just one day! I AM a genius! OW! DAMMIT!" I rubbed the back of my head, scowling deeply.

"I ain't old, ya snotty brat." he said crossly, but then grinned widely at me. "Good job. Just in time for lunch, too." He stood up, stretching and yawning loudly. "Well, sorry ta say, kid, but tomorrow I'll be on a five-day long mission, so you'll have to wait before I can teach you the final step."

"FIVE DAYS?" I shrieked. "Dude, you know how long that is? What am I supposed to do in the meantime?" I said outraged, getting up.

"How 'bout you practice some taijutsu? Or ask yer dad to teach you some elemental jutsu. You could also train with weapons, or… well, the possibilities are endless, ey." I groaned, not interested in any of that.

"Fine… I'll figure something out. Though… what is the final step, sensei?" I asked, out of curiosity.

"Simple, combining the first two steps. Anyway, gotta go, kiddo. I'll see ya in five days!" He ruffled my hair, then disappeared in white smoke. I pouted, displeased with the way things were going. But I guess there wasn't much I could do about it now. I sighed disappointedly, and trudged towards my house, when suddenly I saw very faint movement from the corner of my eyes, between the bushes. It could've been the rustling of the leaves or simply a bird or other small animal, but my gut told me someone was there, watching me. I didn't freeze, however. I simply continued walking, my face perfectly blank, as if I hadn't seen anything.

_He's a few inches away from the tree, hiding between two bushes. With shuriken it'll take slightly less than a second to hit him… but if I'm not fast enough to catch him there's the risk he'll get away or counter and get me first. _I had to time it exactly right. I decided on a tactic, and as quick as I could, grabbed three shuriken from my pouch and shot them towards the bushes. Without wasting any time I sprinted there, hearing a gasp, my shuriken having hit, but when I looked between the bushes, the person had disappeared.

He appeared right behind me, and he wanted to attack. He grabbed a hold of my arm and I saw a kunai coming down, aiming for my neck. Too bad for him, I'd put a preventive explosive tag on the very spot he was standing as I'd rushed over here earlier. It set off, and I, having been prepared, avoided the explosion easily by jumping back and out of range. Ha, what a dumbass!

When the smoke cleared up, I saw him lying on his back, covering his face with his arms. I quickly put a kunai to his throat with a proud grin. _Man, I'm so cool! I bet that stupid Uchiha couldn't have pulled this off!_ I studied the man's appearance. He was wearing a mask, but not an ANBU one. This one was completely black and smooth. He was also wearing a black jumpsuit with black gloves and boots. Nope, definitely not ANBU, unless dad had decided to change the dress code all of a sudden.

"You better start talking or you'll be in trouble, no joke." I warned him, but then he suddenly dispersed into white smoke. Dammit, a clone! I cursed softly, and looked around. No sign of the guy. Crap. Had that asshole been spying on me? Well, evidently he'd been doing _something _wrong if he was lurking around in the bushes like a creepy pedophile.

I sighed, deciding to return home, and tell dad about it. He'd want to know if there was a hostile inside the village, after all.

* * *

><p>"Where are <em>you <em>going?" Ryuuji asked me suspiciously as I put my shoes and jacket on. I sighed.

"The Hokage is going to give me and my team a new mission, and yeah, I have permission of dad to head out. Shouldn't you get one soon as well?" I asked with a frown.

"Tch, I've already been assigned one, but I'm waiting for additional information before I head out. Should be arriving any second now."

"What kind of mission is it?"

"Stealth mission. Can't tell you any more about it." I was surprised at this. Usually Ryuuji would be boasting about how dangerous his mission would be or how important it was to the village, but it seemed he did have a legitimate and highly classified mission this time. Of course, Ryuuji was an excellent spy above all else. Despite his temperament and rash behavior, he was incredibly stealthy and patient when needed. It was rare for them to send him out, unless it was a highly dangerous situation which required a lot of tact. I couldn't help but worry. He was my big brother, after all, even if I couldn't stand him sometimes.

He noticed my concerned look, and rolled his eyes, patting me on the head, a gesture which was probably meant to be reassuring, but we both knew these kinds of missions could be lethal. "I'll be fine, brat. Now run along. Can't keep the Hokage waiting, can you?" I scowled, but nodded nonetheless.

"Just be careful." I mumbled, and walked out, closing the door behind me. Neither of us said goodbye, as was the routine thing to do when he got these kinds of missions. I wondered if Kazuya knew what his mission was about, but then doubted he'd ever tell me anything. He still wouldn't tell me about our clan's history either, which was infuriating, as you can imagine.

In my contemplations I bumped right into a small kid, who fell down on the ground with a small yelp. I looked down, the first thing I saw was what looked like a bush of blond locks. Akio? What was that kid doing all the way here, near my house? He looked up at me, blinked twice, and smiled brightly.

"Hi, nee-chan!" he chirped happily. He'd always called me that, even though I wasn't actually his sister. I frowned.

"Akio, what are you doing here all by yourself?" I asked. Akio looked around.

"Uhm… I was following a puppy… but it ran away before I could get it… ow." I noticed he'd injured his knee, and sighed, picking him up in my arms.

"I'll bring you back home. Just don't go… following random puppies around again, okay?" Konoha wasn't _that _safe. It was getting pretty late for a kid his age to still be outside, and not everyone in this village was nice to small kids.

"Thanks! You're really nice, nee-chan!" Akio said happily, his small arms around my neck. I frowned, as I walked through the streets, which seemed to get emptier with the minute now the sun was setting.

"Now if only your stupid brother would acknowledge that." I huffed.

"Hmm? Katsu-nii?" Akio asked. "But Katsu-nii really likes you, nee-chan! He talks about you a lot, you know!" he said with a bright smile.

"Oh? What does he say?" I asked, by interest piqued. Akio's smile faded away.

"Uhm… well… he wants to kick your… uhm… your butt."

"Thought so." The dumbass was probably still bitter he'd lost the last sparing match. But he was making improvements, mostly in his speed. His reflexes had always been excellent, but lately I noticed he was a lot quicker to react and more precise as well. No matter, I was still heaps ahead of him anyway. I then spotted Hiroki walking not far away, and called out to him. He turned around and smiled, waving at me, and waited for me to catch up to him. There was no sign of the bonehead or Minoru-sensei yet.

"Hey, Yukari, Akio." Hiroki greeted us, then glanced at Akio's scraped knee which had ruined his pants. "Oh, that doesn't look too good."

"I fell." Akio helpfully told him.

"Hmm… right. Well, you need to get that disinfected first."

"What's… what's difinsected?" Akio repeated poorly, and I chuckled. He was so endearing sometimes.

"No, no, dis-in-fec-ted. Ah, forget about it." Hiroki sighed, and then finally looked at me. "So, your dad let you out again, huh?"

"Yeah, finally. Anyway, I hope this next mission is going to be more challenging than the last one." Hiroki nodded.

"Chasing that cat was so boring. Hey, did you know Minoru-sensei is just obsessed with candy? Man, seriously, he dragged me right into the candy store the other day and bought like a whole basket filled with chocolate and lollipops."

"How is he not completely fat yet?"

"Che, hell if I know."

We eventually made our way to the Hokage's office. I happened to stumble across Hinata, Katsuro's mother, and handed Akio over to her as she fussed about her son and immediately tended his wound, after thanking me for taking care of him. I just hoped that kid heeded my advice and didn't go running around following puppies to god-knows-where again. Anyway, we knocked on the Hokage's door.

"Come in." To my surprise, I saw Katsuro and Minoru-sensei were already present, both looking at us expectantly. Don't tell me we were late? Well, at least I had a good excuse. "Finally decided to show up?" Naruto said with a grin. I frowned but didn't respond as I stood next to my sensei. "Well, now you're all here, I'm going to give you your super-ultra-mega-top-important mission!"

"Dad, we're not kindergartners, cut the crap alr- OW!"

"I said _no _cussing in my office!" Hiroki chuckled silently and I merely rolled my eyes, folding my arms and waited for the Hokage to continue. "Anyway, it is actually a pretty important mission, but I feel that you're good enough to handle it." Naruto said on a serious tone. "A few of my scouts have located an old tomb, which contains valuable scrolls inside we _have _to retrieve before anyone else. I gave the location to your sensei, so he'll know where to go."

"What kind of scrolls are these?" I asked curiously. Naruto was silent for a moment, as if he was contemplating something.

"Well, as far as info goes, one of the scrolls contains several Fuinjutsu techniques that were thought to have been lost. The other scrolls contains similar, very powerful techniques and even a few Kinjutsu, from what I understand. We cannot afford to lose them, understand?"

"But why didn't the scouts retrieve them?"

"There have been a lot of hostiles in the area. But don't worry, I have other ninjas that will take care of them as a diversion, so you can go grab the scrolls and get out without much difficulty. So, what do you say, Team Lucky? Are you up for it?" Naturally, Katsuro was the first to instinctively respond.

"Bring it on!"

* * *

><p><strong>Short chapter, I know, butttttt I had to end it here, since the next chapter is going to be all about how they start their first, REAL mission. Heh. And uh, yeah, you'll get to find out what the guy in black clothes was doing as well.<strong>

**So this chapter was... like an intro for an arc? If you look at it from a manga-perspective, that is xD**

**So, hope you enjoyed! See ya next time! :D**


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